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Ghana
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has signed the TPNW
Has not yet ratified the TPNW
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SIGNED
20 September 2017 |
RATIFIED
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IN FORCE
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Status
Ghana has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Signature
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the minister of foreign affairs of Ghana, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.
In 2021, the government announced that “national processes are currently under way in Ghana for the ratification of the treaty and the subsequent deposit of our instrument of ratification”.
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the minister of foreign affairs of Ghana, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: UNOLA
Government officials, parliamentarians, and members of civil society participate in a workshop in Accra in 2021 to promote ratification of the TPNW. Photo: Ghana MFA
National position
In 2021, Ghana welcomed the TPNW’s entry into force. It believes that the treaty “provides a universally agreed path to the total elimination of nuclear weapons” and “has revived the disarmament debate”.
“As the only legally binding global treaty that outlaws nuclear weapons, Ghana believes that the [TPNW] helps to address the existing loopholes in international law regarding the development, testing, production, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons,” it said in 2022.
Universalisation
Ghana 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”.
Ghana addresses a regional seminar on the universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2023. Photo: ICAN
Meetings of states parties
Ghana attended as an observer the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. “This meeting could not have come at a more important time given the heightened risk of nuclear war in recent times,” said Thomas Mbomba, a deputy minister.
“The government of Ghana is considering the legal instrument that would seal the ratification of this all-important treaty,” he announced. “It is our hope that our country will soon join the ranks of state parties before the next meeting of states parties.”
TPNW negotiations
Ghana 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 its opening statement to the negotiating conference, Ghana described the treaty-making process as “long overdue” and “a genuine and timely opportunity to break the impasse and to make real progress towards a world free of nuclear weapons”.
In 2016, Ghana voted in favour of 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
Ghana 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.
Further information
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has signed the TPNW
Has not yet ratified the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
|
|
|
|
SIGNED
20 September 2017 |
RATIFIED
|
IN FORCE
|
Status
Ghana has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Signature
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the minister of foreign affairs of Ghana, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.
In 2021, the government announced that “national processes are currently under way in Ghana for the ratification of the treaty and the subsequent deposit of our instrument of ratification”.
Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the minister of foreign affairs of Ghana, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: UNOLA
Government officials, parliamentarians, and members of civil society participate in a workshop in Accra in 2021 to promote ratification of the TPNW. Photo: Ghana MFA
National position
In 2021, Ghana welcomed the TPNW’s entry into force. It believes that the treaty “provides a universally agreed path to the total elimination of nuclear weapons” and “has revived the disarmament debate”.
“As the only legally binding global treaty that outlaws nuclear weapons, Ghana believes that the [TPNW] helps to address the existing loopholes in international law regarding the development, testing, production, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons,” it said in 2022.
Universalisation
Ghana 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”.
Ghana addresses a regional seminar on the universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2023. Photo: ICAN
Meetings of states parties
Ghana attended as an observer the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. “This meeting could not have come at a more important time given the heightened risk of nuclear war in recent times,” said Thomas Mbomba, a deputy minister.
“The government of Ghana is considering the legal instrument that would seal the ratification of this all-important treaty,” he announced. “It is our hope that our country will soon join the ranks of state parties before the next meeting of states parties.”
TPNW negotiations
Ghana 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 its opening statement to the negotiating conference, Ghana described the treaty-making process as “long overdue” and “a genuine and timely opportunity to break the impasse and to make real progress towards a world free of nuclear weapons”.
In 2016, Ghana voted in favour of 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
Ghana 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.
Further information
[PARTNERS]
Abibimman Foundation
Community and Family Aid Foundation
Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA)
Global Media Foundation
Presbyterian Church of Ghana
Youth in Action Ghana
[LOCALSUPPORT]
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