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Zambia
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has signed the TPNW
Has not yet ratified the TPNW
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SIGNED
26 September 2019 |
RATIFIED
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IN FORCE
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Status
Zambia has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Signature
Joseph Malanji, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Zambia, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 26 September 2019.
In 2017, the Zambian parliament’s committee on national security and foreign affairs reviewed the TPNW and issued a report on its merits.
Joseph Malanji, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Zambia, signs the TPNW in 2019. Photo: ICAN
A ratification workshop for the TPNW in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, in May 2024. Photo: ICAN
Universalisation
Zambia 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 a statement to the United Nations in 2021, the president of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, noted with satisfaction the entry into force of the TPNW, describing it as “a tangible feat towards advancing the cause of nuclear disarmament on the international stage”.
He added: “Zambia encourages other states that are yet to ratify the TPNW to come on board so that we can continue making advances towards achieving our aspirations towards eradicating nuclear weapons.”
TPNW negotiations
Zambia participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 but was absent for the vote on its adoption.
In an address to the United Nations in September 2017, the then-president of Zambia, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, congratulated all those “who worked so hard” to achieve the treaty. He said that Zambia looked forward “to witnessing its coming into effect”.
In 2016, Zambia 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
Zambia 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 signed the TPNW
Has not yet ratified the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
|
|
|
|
SIGNED
26 September 2019 |
RATIFIED
|
IN FORCE
|
Status
Zambia has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Signature
Joseph Malanji, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Zambia, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 26 September 2019.
In 2017, the Zambian parliament’s committee on national security and foreign affairs reviewed the TPNW and issued a report on its merits.
Joseph Malanji, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Zambia, signs the TPNW in 2019. Photo: ICAN
A ratification workshop for the TPNW in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, in May 2024. Photo: ICAN
Universalisation
Zambia 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 a statement to the United Nations in 2021, the president of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, noted with satisfaction the entry into force of the TPNW, describing it as “a tangible feat towards advancing the cause of nuclear disarmament on the international stage”.
He added: “Zambia encourages other states that are yet to ratify the TPNW to come on board so that we can continue making advances towards achieving our aspirations towards eradicating nuclear weapons.”
TPNW negotiations
Zambia participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 but was absent for the vote on its adoption.
In an address to the United Nations in September 2017, the then-president of Zambia, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, congratulated all those “who worked so hard” to achieve the treaty. He said that Zambia looked forward “to witnessing its coming into effect”.
In 2016, Zambia 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
Zambia 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]
Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes
Zambia Healthworkers for Social Responsibility
[LOCALSUPPORT]
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