São Tomé and Príncipe and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

São Tomé and Príncipe

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has signed the TPNW

Has not yet ratified the TPNW

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

Summary

São Tomé and Príncipe has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

Signature

Urbino José Gonçalves Botelho, the then-minister of foreign affairs of São Tomé and Príncipe, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.

Urbino José Gonçalves Botelho, the then-minister of foreign affairs of São Tomé and Príncipe, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN

Universalisation

São Tomé and Príncipe has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by 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”.

TPNW negotiations

São Tomé and Príncipe 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, São Tomé and Príncipe was absent for the vote on 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

São Tomé and Príncipe 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.