Countries / Antigua and Barbuda / Dossier
Antigua and Barbuda
A combined view of Antigua and Barbuda's UN General Assembly speeches, treaty commitments, and voting record.
The narrative paragraphs below are AI-generated syntheses of the data shown — the tables and figures themselves come directly from the underlying records, not from the AI.
Compare with another country →Speech history
Antigua and Barbuda's General Assembly rhetoric has remained consistently passionate and multilaterally oriented, with the country's speeches evolving from broad-brush appeals for trade and climate justice (2006–2009) toward increasingly concrete, self-directed initiatives—particularly after 2020, when references to the country's own pandemic response and regional leadership began appearing more prominently. Emotional intensity has remained high throughout (46–88 scale), while concreteness and self-accountability have trended upward over the period, though the country continues to direct much of its moral and institutional critique outward toward wealthy nations and multilateral bodies rather than dwelling on its own commitments. The thematic spine has remained constant: small-island vulnerability, climate justice, debt relief, and calls for UN and WTO reform, with 2023 marking a notable inflection point where specific initiatives (ITLOS litigation, the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index) joined the rhetorical arsenal alongside traditional grievance-framing.
| Session | Multilateralism | Emotional intensity | Concreteness | Self-accountability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Very High | Medium | Low | Medium |
| 2009 | Very High | High | Medium | Low |
| 2012 | Very High | High | Medium | Medium |
| 2013 | High | High | Medium | Medium |
| 2014 | Very High | High | High | Low |
| 2016 | High | Very High | High | Medium |
| 2020 | Very High | High | High | Medium |
| 2021 | High | High | High | Medium |
| 2022 | High | Very High | High | Medium |
| 2023 | Very High | High | High | High |
| 2024 | High | Very High | High | Medium |
| 2025 | Very High | High | High | Medium |
Treaty status
Full treaty record →Antigua and Barbuda demonstrates near-universal engagement with international legal commitments, having ratified 23 of 24 tracked treaties across arms control, environment, human rights, international justice, and trade governance. The country shows particularly strong commitment to environmental treaties—ratifying all major climate and hazardous-substance agreements save the Kigali Amendment—and to human rights instruments, with all four core conventions signed. This broad compliance posture aligns closely with the country's General Assembly rhetoric on climate justice and vulnerable-state advocacy, suggesting genuine integration of international legal norms into its policy orientation.
Arms control & security
- Arms Trade TreatyRatified
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban TreatyRatified
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their DestructionRatified
- Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear WeaponsRatified
Environment & climate
- Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their DisposalRatified
- Convention on Biological DiversityRatified
- Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone LayerNo action
- Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeRatified
- Minamata Convention on MercuryRatified
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone LayerRatified
- Paris AgreementRatified
- Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International TradeRatified
- Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic PollutantsRatified
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in AfricaRatified
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeRatified
Human rights
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentRatified
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against WomenRatified
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesRatified
- Convention on the Rights of the ChildRatified
- International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsRatified
International justice
- Rome Statute of the International Criminal CourtRatified
Trade & governance
- United Nations Convention against CorruptionRatified
- United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized CrimeRatified
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaRatified
Voting record
Full voting record →Antigua and Barbuda's voting record shows overwhelming alignment with General Assembly consensus (3,310 yes of 4,254 votes cast), yet the country's three notable dissents—against resolutions on Palestine (1986), nuclear testing (1998), and Grenada (1983)—reflect principled departures on issues touching sovereignty, regional security, and self-determination. The high abstention and non-voting rates (221 and 703, respectively) suggest selective engagement, with the country reserving judgment on contentious procedural or substantive matters rather than defaulting to bloc voting, a pattern consistent with small-state pragmatism on votes unlikely to affect its core interests.
Notable dissents from consensus
Question of Palestine : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
1986-12-02 · voted N · 98% voted yes
Nuclear testing : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
1998-12-04 · voted N · 93% voted yes
The situation in Grenada : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
1983-11-02 · voted N · 92% voted yes
Human development
Full HDI record →Human Development Index: 0.851 (Very High), ranked #53 globally in 2023.
Combines life expectancy, education, and income into one comparable score, 0 to 1. Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025 — deterministic figures, not AI-generated.
2007–2023