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In a press statement celebrating the 11th anniversary of the entry into force of the Pelindaba Treaty, the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE) reiterated its call to all African Union Member states to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear weapons as a way to build on the commitments to nuclear disarmament outlined in the Treaty of Pelindaba, which declares Africa a Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone.
The statement stresses that AFCONE "sees the TPNW as reinforcing to global disarmament and non-proliferation and calls upon African States to support the entry into force of the TPNW, by ratifying the Treaty. In March 2018, States Parties to the Pelindaba Treaty called on African Union Member States to 'speedily sign and ratify the treaty', emphasizing that this “advances international law in nuclear disarmament and is consistent with the goals of the Treaty of Pelindaba.”
The Republic of Botswana observed the anniversary by depositing its ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition on Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The statement further notes that "despite negative impact of the Covid-19 on the global disarmament machinery, Namibia and Lesotho also ratified the TPNW this year and South Africa ratified it in 2019."
"This August will mark 75 years since of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which claimed close to a quarter of a million lives. Bringing into force the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) would be a most fitting tribute to the victims and survivors of the atomic bombings."
Read the full statement here.