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Against the backdrop of increasing global nuclear risks, African nations met this month in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to advance the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world. Officials from across the continent discussed the urgent need to ratify and fully implement the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which entered into force in 2021.
On 6 September 2024, permanent representatives and experts of African Union member states, representatives of international organisations, scientific and civil society in Addis Ababa came together at the African Conference on the Universalisation and Implementation of the TPNW to take stock of the treaty from a regional perspective and advocate the need for further progress in universalising the treaty in Africa.
The one day conference was co-hosted by the Republic of South Africa, as co-chair of the working group on universalisation of the TPNW, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and ICAN. Panellists and participants discussed Africa’s security concerns resulting from the risks of nuclear weapons use and their catastrophic humanitarian consequences for Africa and the world, the relationship between the TPNW and the African peace, security and disarmament architectures, as well as the role of African states can play in the universalization of the Treaty and its implementation.
“The current security environment allows no room for procrastination. Humanity cannot afford to wait for the right time before doing away with wrong and dangerous weapons. (...) Nuclear disarmament is not just a legal obligation, but also a moral and ethical imperative.”
Ambassador Xolisa Makaya
Permanent Representative of South Africa to the African Union
Opening the conference, Ambassador Xolisa Makaya, Permanent representative of South Africa to the African Union, welcomed the fact that “the number of States that have signed or ratified this treaty continues to grow. Important gatherings such as this Conference solidifies the complementary role of the Treaty to international, regional and national priorities for peace and security and broaden engagement among States, with regional organisations such as the African Union, other organisations and civil society.”
African Conference on the Universalisation and Implementation of the TPNW. Photo: Manayeh Gurmecha | ICRC delegation to the AU
In his remarks, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Ambassador Bankole Adeoye welcomed discussions on the universalisation of the TPNW in Africa in view of the current geopolitical tensions that call for urgency in nuclear disarmament. Ambassador Bankole further reiterated the commitment of the Commission to work with all stakeholders to support Member States to accede to the TPNW.
“The African Union Commission remains committed to supporting Member States in the universalization of the TPNW – in line with their commitment to nuclear disarmament.”
Ambassador Bankole Adeoye
African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security
Today, @UN_Disarmament High Representative @NakamitsuUN delivered a video-message in occasion of the African Conference on the Universalisation and Implementation of the #TPNW in Addis Ababa.
— ODA (@UN_Disarmament) September 6, 2024
📎 https://t.co/CLFmK71Sqx pic.twitter.com/Qqv0IO5lDE
The ICRC reminded the audience that their team in Japan witnessed first-hand the horrific suffering inflicted by the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the long-term effects of exposure to radiation from those bombs to date. “The ICRC's own studies, and those of UN agencies, have found that no State or international organisation could adequately address the immediate humanitarian emergency and the long term consequences of a nuclear weapon detonation in a populated area, nor provide appropriate assistance to those affected and ensure complete environmental remediation,” said Bruce Mokaya Orina, Head of ICRC delegation in Addis Ababa, calling for a new security narrative framed “in humanitarian terms, around the notion of human security - a concept encompassing individual and collective health and well-being, as well as environmental, food security and climate concerns.” He further urged all African States to work both individually and collectively to counter troubling contemporary security narratives and join the TPNW.
Panellists, including Ambassador Alexander Kmentt of Austria, facilitator of the TPNW consultative process on security concerns that result from the perpetuation of security policies that rely on nuclear weapons, made presentations, as did academics and civil society representatives, on the risks posed by nuclear weapons in the current global context and the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons explosions anywhere in the world would have for Africa. AU member states then engaged in an exchange of views from a national and regional perspective.
The conference also recalled the long-standing commitment of African states and the African Union to nuclear disarmament. Jocelyn Nahimana, Head of Division of the African Union DDR/SSR Unit retraced the long list of strong AU decisions in this regard, from the adoption of the Decision on the Denuclearization of Africa in 1964 at the First Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in Cairo, the signing and entry into force in 2009 of the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Africa (Treaty of Pelindaba), to the April 2019 AU Peace and Security’s meeting on this topic.
If a large geographic region like Africa can be kept free of nuclear
weapons, why not, one day, the entire world? You have shown that it is possible. Now others must follow your lead.
Céline Nahory
Advocacy Coordinator, ICAN
The Office of the AU Legal Counsel made a presentation on the complementarity and synergy between the Treaty of Pelindaba and the TPNW. Participants reviewed the support of African states for the TPNW and its current status on the continent.
Participants discussed how African States can contribute to the universalisation and implementation of the treaty, emphasising the importance of cooperation between countries, international and regional organisations to universalise the TPNW, advance the goals of nuclear disarmament and strengthen international security.
“The ICRC calls upon all African States that have not yet done so to show their commitment to a nuclear-weapon-free world by joining the TPNW without delay.”
Bruce Mokaya Orina
Head of Delegation of the ICRC to the African Union
South Africa shared a report of the African Regional Seminar on the Universalisation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), held in Pretoria, South Africa in January 2023, in collaboration with ICAN and the ICRC.
The AU Commission, ICAN and the ICRC further offered their support to AU member states in their efforts to join the TPNW and highlighted the opportunity of the high-level TPNW signature and ratification ceremony that will be held in the margins of the UN General Assembly in September 2024.
The work undertaken by TPNW states parties in the framework of the Treaty following the first two meetings of States Parties, as well as progress in the intersession were presented. Ambassador Barlybay Sadykov of Kazakhstan participated in the Conference to share remarks on behalf of the Presidency of the Third Meeting of the States Parties to the TPNW, which will be held on March 3-7, 2025 at the UN Headquarters in New York. “Kazakhstan is firmly convinced that a world without nuclear weapons is not just a goal, but a vital necessity for the future of humanity. We call on all countries to join this treaty and work together to fully implement it,” said Ambassador Sadykov.
In closing the event, Ms Matheko Letsie, Deputy Permanent Representative of South Africa, encouraged participants “ to work collectively at both regional and global levels towards strengthening the norms against nuclear weapons and their complete elimination” and reminded Member States of the upcoming Treaty Event that will take place during the High-level Segment of the UN General Assembly in New York and “encourage all African States who have yet to do so to sign or deposit their instruments of ratification or accession to the TPNW during this occasion or as soon as possible.”
Photos
Resources
Learn more from new findings from recent scholarship on humanitarian consequences and risks of nuclear weapons here.
Read about the “Implications for Africa of use of nuclear weapons” here.
Download the TPNW Working Paper “Universalizing the security concerns of States under the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” submitted by Austria here.
Download the brochure "African support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” here.
Download the Chair’s Summary of the African Regional Seminar on the Universalisation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in English: here , and in French, here
Download the ICRC Factsheet on the Treaty of Pelindaba and the TPNW here.
Read more about the work undertaken by TPNW States Parties here.
The African Conference on the Universalisation and Implementation of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was made possible with the generous support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Austria.