São Tomé and Príncipe

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

15 January 2024

IN FORCE

14 April 2024

Status

São Tomé and Príncipe has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 14 April 2024.

Signature and ratification

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.

The minister of justice, IIza Amado Vaz, deposited the instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 15 January 2024, following the unanimous approval of the national assembly on 16 November 2023. She said that São Tomé and Príncipe would do its best “to participate actively in the process of this treaty”.

São Tomé and Príncipe was the 70th state to ratify or accede to the TPNW.

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

The minister of justice, IIza Amado Vaz, deposits the instrument of ratification in 2024. Photo: ICAN

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, São Tomé and Príncipe submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 27 March 2024 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, 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.