Gabon

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has signed the TPNW

Has not yet ratified the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

Status

Gabon has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

Signature

The minister of foreign affairs of Gabon, Marie-Édith Tassyla-Ye-Doumbeneny, signed the TPNW in New York on 23 September 2026.

In a statement, she welcomed the treaty’s adoption, noting that it aims to strengthen the international regulatory framework for nuclear weapons, and expressed her country’s firm commitment to its implementation “for a safer world”.

Gabon’s foreign minister signs the TPNW in 2026. Photo: ICAN

Universalisation

Gabon 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 2023, Gabon renewed its “commitment to an outright ban on nuclear weapons” and urged states to refrain from adhering to “any doctrine based on nuclear deterrence”. In 2025, it encouraged the international community to support treaties such as the TPNW.

Meetings of states parties

Gabon observed the third meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2025.

TPNW negotiations

While Gabon did not formally participate in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017, it was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.

In 2016, Gabon 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”.

Further information

Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor