Comoros

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

19 February 2021

IN FORCE

20 May 2021

Status

Comoros has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 20 May 2021.

Signature and ratification

Azali Assoumali, the president of Comoros, signed the TPNW at a high-level meeting in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.

In an address to the United Nations that same week, he called on nuclear-armed states “to abandon their nuclear weapons programmes”.

Azali Assoumali, the president of Comoros, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN

In 2020, the foreign ministry of Comoros and the Association SALAM, an ICAN partner organisation, co-hosted a workshop in the country’s capital, Moroni, to brief members of parliament about the TPNW. The parliament subsequently approved ratification of the treaty.

Comoros deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 19 February 2021, becoming the 54th state to ratify or accede to the treaty.

Members of the parliament of Comoros, along with other stakeholders, attend a workshop to learn about the TPNW in 2020. Photo: ICAN

The parliament of Comoros approves ratification of the TPNW in 2020. Photo: Al-watwan

National position

In 2022, Comoros welcomed the adoption and entry into force of the TPNW and the success of its “historic” first meeting of states parties. It called on all states that have not yet signed and ratified the treaty “to do so without further ado”.

In 2024, it said that the TPNW complements and strengthens the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 and other elements of the global security architecture, and “represents a crucial step toward ridding the world of the most destructive and inhumane weapons ever created”.

It further noted that the progress made in the implementation and universalisation of the TPNW “demonstrates the unwavering commitment of its states parties to achieve a world without nuclear weapons”.

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Comoros submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 4 May 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.

As required by Article 3, Comoros has a comprehensive safeguards agreement in force with the International Atomic Energy Agency to guard against the misuse of nuclear facilities and materials. It also has an additional protocol in force.

Per Article 12, Comoros 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 2021, Comoros said that “each new signature and ratification of this important legal instrument [the TPNW] strengthens the global norm against the use and possession of nuclear weapons, and brings us even closer to a world free from the nuclear threat”.

In 2023, it said that it was “heartening to see that the number of TPNW signatories continues to increase” and urged “all states to join this effort for a safer world”.

Comoros addresses a regional seminar on the universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2023. Photo: ICAN

Meetings of states parties

Comoros participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022. It expressed its hope that the meeting would develop “recommendations that will make peace and security a priority”.

It also participated in the second meeting in 2023, where it emphasised the importance of universalising the treaty. “It is by unifying our voices and our actions that we can delegitimise, stigmatise and, ultimately, eliminate nuclear weapons,” it said.

TPNW negotiations

Comoros did not formally participate in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and thus did not vote on its adoption.

In 2016, Comoros 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”. However, it subsequently informed the UN secretariat that it had intended to abstain from voting.

Before the negotiations

Comoros 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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