Guyana calls on CARICOM member states to ratify Treaty on Nuclear Disarmament
DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, June 19, 2019
A call has been made for all member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to ratify the Treaty on Nuclear Disarmament to ensure its early entry into force.
Foreign Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge made the call today at the opening of a two-day regional forum on the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) hosted at the Ramada Princess Hotel, Georgetown.
The Foreign Secretary said ratifying the treaty will strengthen the international norms and standards regarding the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
Back in July 2017, under the stewardship of then Foreign Affairs Minister Greenidge, Guyana became the first CARICOM member state to sign on to the treaty, which prohibits the development, testing, manufacturing, production, possession, stockpiling, and use or threat of use of nuclear weapons under any circumstance.
According to Foreign Secretary Greenidge, the decision was rooted in government’s conviction that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is dependent on both words and actions.
“For Guyana, the TPNW is a historic and significant contribution to the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime,” he told the regional officials.
He hopes that by the end of the two-day forum, officials who are directly involved in influencing their country’s readiness, would be in a better position to take the internal process forward.
“Our planet and our people expect and deserve nothing less,” he said.
The Foreign Secretary said Guyana is committed to a world free of nuclear weapons. The country, he noted, has always taken a progressive approach to questions of nuclear non-proliferation disarmament and has been a state party to the major legal arguments.
“Guyana reiterates the need for further practical and complete disarmament measures that will lead to the total elimination of nuclear weapons and recommits to be an active and conscientious partner in the regional and global agenda to realise a weapon free world,” the Foreign Secretary noted.
The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) has reported that to date, over 2,000 nuclear tests have been conducted. The world also has 14,000 active nuclear weapons.
“Nuclear weapons provide a false sense of security to those who possess them. They simultaneously provoke fear and anxiety to others,” Greenidge stated.
The forum is a collaborative effort between the Government of Guyana and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
Treaty Coordinator Céline Nahory told the regional officials that the risk of use of nuclear weapons is on the rise. She said while this issue may seem to be an issue for nuclear arm states only, the use of such weapons anywhere will have disastrous effects anywhere.
Nahory stated that, “in view of these catastrophic consequences, all regions and people have a stake in advancing international humanitarian law and the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction.” In effect, all people have an important role to play to achieve this.
Images: Abike Barker