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Guyana
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
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SIGNED
20 September 2017 |
RATIFIED
20 September 2017 |
IN FORCE
22 January 2021 |
Status
Guyana has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). It was among the original 50 states parties to the treaty when it entered into force on 22 January 2021.
Signature and ratification
David Granger, the then-president of Guyana, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017. He deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on the same day.
Guyana was the equal first state to ratify the TPNW.
David Granger, the then-president of Guyana, signs the TPNW and deposits the instrument of ratification in 2017. Photo: ICAN
National position
In 2019, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Guyana, Karen Cummings, said that the TPNW “aims to transform the regional norm of the Caribbean against the possession of nuclear weapons into a global norm”.
In 2021, the president of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, welcomed the TPNW’s entry into force as “a watershed moment for the disarmament agenda” and said that his country “is proud to have contributed to this historic achievement”.
He added: “There is now a legally binding international agreement that comprehensively prohibits the development, testing, manufacturing, production, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances. We have now closed the legal gap which previously existed in the international disarmament regime.”
In 2022, Guyana said that the TPNW “builds upon, contributes to, and strengthens the [Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968] and complements efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons”.
“As members of this global community of nations, we have a moral, ethical and legal obligation to prohibit the use of nuclear weapons,” Guyana said in 2023.
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Guyana submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 21 February 2021 confirming that it does not own, possess, or control nuclear weapons, has never done so, and does not host any other state’s nuclear weapons on its territory.
Per Article 12, Guyana has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.
In 2019, Guyana hosted a regional forum in its capital, Georgetown, to encourage members of the Caribbean Community to sign and ratify the TPNW. Delegations representing 10 states from the regional attended the forum.
They adopted a statement expressing “strong support for achieving the swift entry into force” of the treaty and agreeing “to work toward signature and ratification (as applicable) of the treaty”.
In 2020, Guyana urged all UN member states “to ratify the [TPNW] with urgency in a tangible show of commitment to the goal of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation”.
In 2022, Guyana underscored its “full support for the universalisation and effective implementation of the [TPNW]”, which it described as “one of the strongest tools we have” to ensure the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
Government officials from across the Caribbean participate in a regional forum in Guyana in 2019 to promote the TPNW. Photo: ICAN
Meetings of states parties
Guyana participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022. “This meeting of states parties is faced with a historic task,” it said. “We meet to develop a blueprint for the implementation of the TPNW, and we must do so conscious of the fact that nuclear weapons today have an expanded role in military doctrines.”
Guyana welcomed the adoption of a declaration and action plan at the meeting of states parties. “We are fully committed to working with all states to implement the provisions [of the TPNW],” it said.
Guyana also participated in the second meeting of states parties in 2023, where it voiced concern about “the growing pervasiveness of nuclear rhetoric”, “the modernisation of nuclear weapons and efforts to increase existing arsenals”, and the promotion of nuclear weapons as instruments of “power and prestige”.
TPNW negotiations
Guyana participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.
In 2016, Guyana voted in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Before the negotiations
Guyana was among 127 states that endorsed a “humanitarian pledge” in 2015–16 to cooperate “in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit, and eliminate nuclear weapons”. The pledge was instrumental in building momentum and support for convening the TPNW negotiations.
Further information
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
|
|
|
|
SIGNED
20 September 2017 |
RATIFIED
20 September 2017 |
IN FORCE
22 January 2021 |
Status
Guyana has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). It was among the original 50 states parties to the treaty when it entered into force on 22 January 2021.
Signature and ratification
David Granger, the then-president of Guyana, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017. He deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on the same day.
Guyana was the equal first state to ratify the TPNW.
David Granger, the then-president of Guyana, signs the TPNW and deposits the instrument of ratification in 2017. Photo: ICAN
National position
In 2019, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Guyana, Karen Cummings, said that the TPNW “aims to transform the regional norm of the Caribbean against the possession of nuclear weapons into a global norm”.
In 2021, the president of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, welcomed the TPNW’s entry into force as “a watershed moment for the disarmament agenda” and said that his country “is proud to have contributed to this historic achievement”.
He added: “There is now a legally binding international agreement that comprehensively prohibits the development, testing, manufacturing, production, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances. We have now closed the legal gap which previously existed in the international disarmament regime.”
In 2022, Guyana said that the TPNW “builds upon, contributes to, and strengthens the [Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968] and complements efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons”.
“As members of this global community of nations, we have a moral, ethical and legal obligation to prohibit the use of nuclear weapons,” Guyana said in 2023.
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Guyana submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 21 February 2021 confirming that it does not own, possess, or control nuclear weapons, has never done so, and does not host any other state’s nuclear weapons on its territory.
Per Article 12, Guyana has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.
In 2019, Guyana hosted a regional forum in its capital, Georgetown, to encourage members of the Caribbean Community to sign and ratify the TPNW. Delegations representing 10 states from the regional attended the forum.
They adopted a statement expressing “strong support for achieving the swift entry into force” of the treaty and agreeing “to work toward signature and ratification (as applicable) of the treaty”.
In 2020, Guyana urged all UN member states “to ratify the [TPNW] with urgency in a tangible show of commitment to the goal of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation”.
In 2022, Guyana underscored its “full support for the universalisation and effective implementation of the [TPNW]”, which it described as “one of the strongest tools we have” to ensure the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
Government officials from across the Caribbean participate in a regional forum in Guyana in 2019 to promote the TPNW. Photo: ICAN
Meetings of states parties
Guyana participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022. “This meeting of states parties is faced with a historic task,” it said. “We meet to develop a blueprint for the implementation of the TPNW, and we must do so conscious of the fact that nuclear weapons today have an expanded role in military doctrines.”
Guyana welcomed the adoption of a declaration and action plan at the meeting of states parties. “We are fully committed to working with all states to implement the provisions [of the TPNW],” it said.
Guyana also participated in the second meeting of states parties in 2023, where it voiced concern about “the growing pervasiveness of nuclear rhetoric”, “the modernisation of nuclear weapons and efforts to increase existing arsenals”, and the promotion of nuclear weapons as instruments of “power and prestige”.
TPNW negotiations
Guyana participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.
In 2016, Guyana voted in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Before the negotiations
Guyana was among 127 states that endorsed a “humanitarian pledge” in 2015–16 to cooperate “in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit, and eliminate nuclear weapons”. The pledge was instrumental in building momentum and support for convening the TPNW negotiations.
Further information
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