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Article 12 Informal Working Group Meetings
9 April 2024
The informal working group on universalisation held a meeting attended by more than twenty states parties and signatories, as well as by representatives of ICAN, the ICRC and the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) representatives. The working group co-chairs recalled the broad scope of promoting universalisation under Article 12 of the Treaty and a number of actions under the Vienna Action Plan, including bringing in new signatures and ratifications, as well as promoting the Treaty in various fora and highlighting its synergy with other workstreams. A tentative programme of work for the current intersession was introduced, with activities ranging from panels and symposiums with the SAG and on the security concerns of States Parties, the coordination of joint statements in the UN first committee and bilateral and regional outreach in collaboration with ICAN, the ICRC and regional institutions.
1 June 2023
Working session of the African Group in Geneva on TPNW universalisation
South Africa, in its capacity as co-facilitator of the intersessional working group on universalisation, in partnership with ICAN, convened a working session of the African Group in Geneva to share recent developments and to promote the universalisation of the TPNW ahead of the second meeting of states parties to the TPNW. Delegations shared updates about the status of their procedure with regards to joining the TPNW.
30-31 January 2023
African Regional Seminar on the Universalisation of the TPNW
South Africa, in partnership with ICAN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), hosted a two-day seminar in Pretoria to take stock of the TPNW from a regional perspective and consider the need for further progress towards universalisation of the treaty on the continent. Delegates representing 37 African states, as well as the African Union Commission, African Commission on Nuclear Energy and civil society organisations in Africa, participated in the meeting. Malaysia, as a co-chair of the informal working group on universalisation, also participated. The deputy minister of international relations and cooperation of South Africa, Alvin Botes, delivered opening remarks.
26 January 2023
The informal working group on universalisation held its first meeting at the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the United Nations in New York. More than 20 states parties attended, as did representatives of ICAN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Delegates outlined proposals for events and activities to promote TPNW universalisation ahead of the second meeting of states parties in November 2023. ICAN and the ICRC provided updates on recent progress towards achieving universal adherence.
22 September 2022
High-level ceremony for further TPNW signatures and ratifications
In the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, Malaysia and South Africa co-sponsored a high-level ceremony for further TPNW signatures and ratifications. Five states signed the treaty on this occasion (Barbados, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti and Sierra Leone) and two ratified it (the Dominican Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo). At the ceremony, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, said: “Joining the TPNW sends a powerful signal of a state’s commitment to achieving our shared goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. But it is not merely a symbolic act. The decisions taken at the first meeting of states parties reflect a commitment to implementing the treaty comprehensively and thoughtfully.”