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Sierra Leone
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
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SIGNED
22 September 2022 |
RATIFIED
24 September 2024 |
IN FORCE
23 December 2024 |
Status
Sierra Leone has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 23 December 2024.
Signature and ratification
David J. Francis, the then-minister for foreign affairs and international cooperation of Sierra Leone, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 22 September 2022.
His successor, Timothy Musa Kabba, deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general at a high-level ceremony in New York on 24 September 2024, following the approval of the national parliament earlier in the year.
Sierra Leone was the equal 71st state to ratify or accede to the TPNW and the 17th African state to do so.
David J. Francis, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Sierra Leone, signs the TPNW in 2022. Photo: Darren Ornitz
Timothy Musa Kabba, the minister of foreign affairs of Sierra Leone, deposits the instrument of ratification in 2024. Photo: Derek French
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Sierra Leone submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 22 January 2025 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, Sierra Leone 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 2022, Sierra Leone called on all UN member states that have not done so to sign and ratify the TPNW, stressing the “urgent need to make concrete and systematic progress towards this end”.
ICAN discusses the TPNW with Anthony Brewah, Sierra Leone’s attorney-general and minister of justice, in Geneva in 2021. Photo: Sierra Leone MFA
TPNW negotiations
Sierra Leone 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, Sierra Leone co-sponsored 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
Sierra Leone 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.
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
|
|
|
|
SIGNED
22 September 2022 |
RATIFIED
24 September 2024 |
IN FORCE
23 December 2024 |
Status
Sierra Leone has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 23 December 2024.
Signature and ratification
David J. Francis, the then-minister for foreign affairs and international cooperation of Sierra Leone, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 22 September 2022.
His successor, Timothy Musa Kabba, deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general at a high-level ceremony in New York on 24 September 2024, following the approval of the national parliament earlier in the year.
Sierra Leone was the equal 71st state to ratify or accede to the TPNW and the 17th African state to do so.
David J. Francis, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Sierra Leone, signs the TPNW in 2022. Photo: Darren Ornitz
Timothy Musa Kabba, the minister of foreign affairs of Sierra Leone, deposits the instrument of ratification in 2024. Photo: Derek French
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Sierra Leone submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 22 January 2025 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, Sierra Leone 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 2022, Sierra Leone called on all UN member states that have not done so to sign and ratify the TPNW, stressing the “urgent need to make concrete and systematic progress towards this end”.
ICAN discusses the TPNW with Anthony Brewah, Sierra Leone’s attorney-general and minister of justice, in Geneva in 2021. Photo: Sierra Leone MFA
TPNW negotiations
Sierra Leone 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, Sierra Leone co-sponsored 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
Sierra Leone 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.
[PARTNERS]
Advocacy Initiative for Development
Christian Outreach Justice Mission Sierra Leone
Campaign for Human Rights and Development International
Peace Drive
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