Gambia

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

26 September 2018

IN FORCE

22 January 2021

 

Status

The Gambia 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

Adama Barrow, the president of the Gambia, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.

Mamadou Tangara, the minister of foreign affairs of the Gambia, deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 26 September 2018.

The Gambia was the 16th state overall and the first in Africa to ratify or accede to the TPNW.

Adama Barrow, the president of the Gambia, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: UNOLA

Mamadou Tangara, the minister of foreign affairs of the Gambia, deposits the instrument of ratification in 2018. Photo: ICAN

 

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, the Gambia submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 15 March 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, the Gambia 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, the minister of defence of the Gambia, Sering Modou Njie, said that his country would continue working to achieve universal adherence to the TPNW, noting that the Gambia was the first African state to ratify the treaty – a reflection of its “total commitment” to the abolition of nuclear weapons.

 

TPNW negotiations

The Gambia 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, the Gambia voted in the first committee of the UN General Assembly in favour of a draft resolution that ultimately established the formal mandate for states to commence the negotiations in 2017 on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.

 

Before the negotiations

The Gambia 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

26 September 2018

IN FORCE

22 January 2021

 

Status

The Gambia 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

Adama Barrow, the president of the Gambia, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.

Mamadou Tangara, the minister of foreign affairs of the Gambia, deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 26 September 2018.

The Gambia was the 16th state overall and the first in Africa to ratify or accede to the TPNW.

Adama Barrow, the president of the Gambia, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: UNOLA

Mamadou Tangara, the minister of foreign affairs of the Gambia, deposits the instrument of ratification in 2018. Photo: ICAN

 

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, the Gambia submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 15 March 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, the Gambia 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, the minister of defence of the Gambia, Sering Modou Njie, said that his country would continue working to achieve universal adherence to the TPNW, noting that the Gambia was the first African state to ratify the treaty – a reflection of its “total commitment” to the abolition of nuclear weapons.

 

TPNW negotiations

The Gambia 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, the Gambia voted in the first committee of the UN General Assembly in favour of a draft resolution that ultimately established the formal mandate for states to commence the negotiations in 2017 on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.

 

Before the negotiations

The Gambia 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

[PARTNERS]

Youth Center for Peace and Development
Child and Environmental Development Association

[LOCALSUPPORT]

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  • Youth Center for Peace and Development
  • Child and Environmental Development Association