Donate
Burkina Faso
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has signed the TPNW
Has not yet ratified the TPNW
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
SIGNED 22 September 2022 |
RATIFIED
|
IN FORCE
|
Status
Burkina Faso has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Signature
Olivia Ragnaghnewendé Rouamba, the minister of foreign affairs and regional cooperation of Burkina Faso, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 22 September 2022.
In a speech at the United Nations later that week, she said that nuclear weapons “constitute a threat to the survival of all humanity because of their humanitarian consequences”.
She subsequently advised ICAN that Burkina Faso would “take the necessary steps in connection with the ratification of the [TPNW] in accordance with its commitment to building a peaceful, secure and prosperous world free of all nuclear weapons”.
Olivia Ragnaghnewendé Rouamba, the minister of foreign affairs of Burkina Faso, signs the TPNW in 2022. Photo: Darren Ornitz
National position
In 2018, Burkina Faso said that the adoption of the TPNW made it possible “to complete the legal architecture for disarmament”. In 2019, it welcomed the growing number of states that had signed and ratified the treaty, while noting that it complements the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968.
In 2021, Burkina Faso hailed the TPNW’s entry into force as “a great victory for all the peoples of the world and a very significant event in the history of humanity”.
Universalisation
Burkina Faso has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring 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”.
Campaigners hold a meeting in the capital, Ouagadougou, in April 2021 to promote Burkina Faso’s adherence to the TPNW. Photo: WILPF Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso addresses a regional seminar on the universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2023. Photo: ICAN
Meetings of states parties
Burkina Faso attended as an observer the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. “Burkina Faso’s support for the TPNW is unwavering,” it said. “We commit ourselves to make all necessary steps to join it as soon as possible.”
TPNW negotiations
Burkina Faso it 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, Burkina Faso 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
Burkina Faso 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 signed the TPNW
Has not yet ratified the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
SIGNED 22 September 2022 |
RATIFIED
|
IN FORCE
|
Status
Burkina Faso has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Signature
Olivia Ragnaghnewendé Rouamba, the minister of foreign affairs and regional cooperation of Burkina Faso, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 22 September 2022.
In a speech at the United Nations later that week, she said that nuclear weapons “constitute a threat to the survival of all humanity because of their humanitarian consequences”.
She subsequently advised ICAN that Burkina Faso would “take the necessary steps in connection with the ratification of the [TPNW] in accordance with its commitment to building a peaceful, secure and prosperous world free of all nuclear weapons”.
Olivia Ragnaghnewendé Rouamba, the minister of foreign affairs of Burkina Faso, signs the TPNW in 2022. Photo: Darren Ornitz
National position
In 2018, Burkina Faso said that the adoption of the TPNW made it possible “to complete the legal architecture for disarmament”. In 2019, it welcomed the growing number of states that had signed and ratified the treaty, while noting that it complements the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968.
In 2021, Burkina Faso hailed the TPNW’s entry into force as “a great victory for all the peoples of the world and a very significant event in the history of humanity”.
Universalisation
Burkina Faso has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring 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”.
Campaigners hold a meeting in the capital, Ouagadougou, in April 2021 to promote Burkina Faso’s adherence to the TPNW. Photo: WILPF Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso addresses a regional seminar on the universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2023. Photo: ICAN
Meetings of states parties
Burkina Faso attended as an observer the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. “Burkina Faso’s support for the TPNW is unwavering,” it said. “We commit ourselves to make all necessary steps to join it as soon as possible.”
TPNW negotiations
Burkina Faso it 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, Burkina Faso 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
Burkina Faso 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
[PARTNERS]
Réseau d’Action Sur les Armes Légères en Afrique de l’Ouest section du Burkina
[LOCALSUPPORT]
No events yet
Related news View all news ›
Find a local ICAN partner to get active Become an ICAN Partner Organization ›
-
Réseau d’Action Sur les Armes Légères en Afrique de l’Ouest section du Burkina