Cabo Verde

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

20 June 2022

IN FORCE

18 September 2022

 

Status

Cabo Verde has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 18 September 2022.

 

Signature and ratification

Luis Filipe Lopes Tavares, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Cabo Verde, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.

In a statement to the United Nations following the signing, Cabo Verde said: “The existence of a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons of course will not make them immediately disappear but will reinforce the stigma against their use … and represents a disincentive for proliferation.”

The national assembly of Cabo Verde unanimously adopted a resolution on 25 March 2022 to ratify the TPNW.

Cabo Verde deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 20 June 2022, the eve of the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, becoming the equal 63rd state party.

Luis Filipe Lopes Tavares, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Cabo Verde, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN

 

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Cabo Verde submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 4 November 2022 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, Cabo Verde has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and 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”.

In a statement to the United Nations in 2017, Cabo Verde called on “all states that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the TPNW as soon as possible”. It has also promoted adherence to the TPNW among states comprising the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone.

Cabo Verde attends a regional seminar on the universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2023. Photo: ICAN

 

Meetings of states parties

Cabo Verde participated in the second meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2023, where it celebrated the growth in the treaty’s membership and the progress in its implementation, including in the area of victim assistance and environmental remediation.

 

TPNW negotiations

Cabo Verde 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, Cabo Verde co-sponsored 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

Cabo Verde 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 Weapons Ban Monitor

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

[HIGHLIGHTS]

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

20 June 2022

IN FORCE

18 September 2022

 

Status

Cabo Verde has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 18 September 2022.

 

Signature and ratification

Luis Filipe Lopes Tavares, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Cabo Verde, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.

In a statement to the United Nations following the signing, Cabo Verde said: “The existence of a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons of course will not make them immediately disappear but will reinforce the stigma against their use … and represents a disincentive for proliferation.”

The national assembly of Cabo Verde unanimously adopted a resolution on 25 March 2022 to ratify the TPNW.

Cabo Verde deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 20 June 2022, the eve of the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, becoming the equal 63rd state party.

Luis Filipe Lopes Tavares, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Cabo Verde, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN

 

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Cabo Verde submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 4 November 2022 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, Cabo Verde has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and 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”.

In a statement to the United Nations in 2017, Cabo Verde called on “all states that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the TPNW as soon as possible”. It has also promoted adherence to the TPNW among states comprising the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone.

Cabo Verde attends a regional seminar on the universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2023. Photo: ICAN

 

Meetings of states parties

Cabo Verde participated in the second meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2023, where it celebrated the growth in the treaty’s membership and the progress in its implementation, including in the area of victim assistance and environmental remediation.

 

TPNW negotiations

Cabo Verde 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, Cabo Verde co-sponsored 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

Cabo Verde 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 Weapons Ban Monitor

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