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Botswana
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
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SIGNED
26 September 2019 |
RATIFIED
15 July 2020 |
IN FORCE
22 January 2021 |
Status
Botswana 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
Unity Dow, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Botswana, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 26 September 2019. Botswana deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 15 July 2020.
Unity Dow, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Botswana, signs the TPNW in 2019. Photo: ICAN
Botswana was the 40th state to ratify or accede to the TPNW. Its ratification coincided with the 11th anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty of Pelindaba, a regional treaty establishing Africa as a nuclear-weapon-free zone.
“In concluding this milestone step,” said Collen Vixen Kelapile, Botswana’s permanent representative to the United Nations, “Botswana has once again reconfirmed its unwavering commitment to global peace and security through prohibition of nuclear weapons.”
He said that Botswana took pride in being counted among the earliest states parties to the TPNW and encouraged “all other peace-loving nations to collectively join hands and contribute to this noble endeavour for the prohibition of all nuclear weapons”.
In 2022, Botswana said that its early ratification of the TPNW indicated its “strong support for the total elimination of nuclear weapons”, adding that its “pro-elimination position is influenced by the need to prevent catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences that would result from the use of nuclear weapons”.
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Botswana submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 8 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, Botswana has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and 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”.
National position
Botswana welcomed the entry into force of the TPNW in 2021, hailing it as “a clear commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons and to multilateral disarmament”, and it “encourage[d] those member states who have not yet signed and ratified to do so without further delay”.
The minister of defence of Botswana, Thomas Kagiso Mmusi, described the TPNW that year as “a necessary foundation as well as a stimulus for future further steps towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons”.
In 2019, Botswana underscored “the significant role of the [TPNW in] strengthening the global norms and practices against the use, proliferation, and possession of nuclear weapons by any country”.
Meetings of states parties
Botswana participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022. It called on all states that have not yet ratified the treaty to do so, “as its universalisation is a step in the right direction to complete nuclear disarmament”.
It also participated in the second meeting of states parties in 2023. “[T]he progress of the TPNW serves as a beacon of hope at a time when heightened geopolitical tensions are undermining the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda and are posing serious risks to global security,” it said.
It reaffirmed its commitment to the “landmark” TPNW and “its noble goal of a world free of nuclear weapons”, describing such weapons as “anachronistic relics from a bygone era”. It added that its ratification of the TPNW in 2020 “was a demonstration of our strong disapproval of nuclear weapons and support for their delegitimisation”.
It also “encourage[d] fellow states parties to not tire in promoting the TPNW and spreading the message about the danger and illegality of nuclear weapons”, and said that it was “pleased with the progress being achieved in the implementation and universalisation of the treaty”.
TPNW negotiations
Botswana 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, Botswana 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
Botswana 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
26 September 2019 |
RATIFIED
15 July 2020 |
IN FORCE
22 January 2021 |
Status
Botswana 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
Unity Dow, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Botswana, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 26 September 2019. Botswana deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 15 July 2020.
Unity Dow, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Botswana, signs the TPNW in 2019. Photo: ICAN
Botswana was the 40th state to ratify or accede to the TPNW. Its ratification coincided with the 11th anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty of Pelindaba, a regional treaty establishing Africa as a nuclear-weapon-free zone.
“In concluding this milestone step,” said Collen Vixen Kelapile, Botswana’s permanent representative to the United Nations, “Botswana has once again reconfirmed its unwavering commitment to global peace and security through prohibition of nuclear weapons.”
He said that Botswana took pride in being counted among the earliest states parties to the TPNW and encouraged “all other peace-loving nations to collectively join hands and contribute to this noble endeavour for the prohibition of all nuclear weapons”.
In 2022, Botswana said that its early ratification of the TPNW indicated its “strong support for the total elimination of nuclear weapons”, adding that its “pro-elimination position is influenced by the need to prevent catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences that would result from the use of nuclear weapons”.
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Botswana submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 8 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, Botswana has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and 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”.
National position
Botswana welcomed the entry into force of the TPNW in 2021, hailing it as “a clear commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons and to multilateral disarmament”, and it “encourage[d] those member states who have not yet signed and ratified to do so without further delay”.
The minister of defence of Botswana, Thomas Kagiso Mmusi, described the TPNW that year as “a necessary foundation as well as a stimulus for future further steps towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons”.
In 2019, Botswana underscored “the significant role of the [TPNW in] strengthening the global norms and practices against the use, proliferation, and possession of nuclear weapons by any country”.
Meetings of states parties
Botswana participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022. It called on all states that have not yet ratified the treaty to do so, “as its universalisation is a step in the right direction to complete nuclear disarmament”.
It also participated in the second meeting of states parties in 2023. “[T]he progress of the TPNW serves as a beacon of hope at a time when heightened geopolitical tensions are undermining the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda and are posing serious risks to global security,” it said.
It reaffirmed its commitment to the “landmark” TPNW and “its noble goal of a world free of nuclear weapons”, describing such weapons as “anachronistic relics from a bygone era”. It added that its ratification of the TPNW in 2020 “was a demonstration of our strong disapproval of nuclear weapons and support for their delegitimisation”.
It also “encourage[d] fellow states parties to not tire in promoting the TPNW and spreading the message about the danger and illegality of nuclear weapons”, and said that it was “pleased with the progress being achieved in the implementation and universalisation of the treaty”.
TPNW negotiations
Botswana 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, Botswana 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
Botswana 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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