West and Central African states met the 27th of January, in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, for a conference on strengthening the TPNW.
The meeting was hosted by Austria, which is co-chair of the informal working group on the universalisation of the Treaty, and Ghana, which ratified the treaty last September, as well as ICAN, the civil society coordinator for the TPNW, with the collaboration of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
19 countries in the region were represented, including those that have yet to sign or ratify the treaty. Also attending the meeting were the UN Deputy High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Dr Adedeji Ebo, and the African Union’s Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Bankole Adeoye. A message was also delivered to the conference on behalf ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah.
The conference took stock of the work achieved so far under the TPNW which bans nuclear weapons and all related activities, and advanced the process of further states joining the treaty. As of this month, which marked the fifth anniversary of the TPNW entering into force, a majority of countries have either signed or ratified the treaty.
The meeting also aimed to raise awareness about the humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and about the TPNW itself, its importance for African States, and its place in the global and regional peace and security architecture in the then current global and regional geo-strategic context.
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana, Ambassador Khadija Iddrisu, the co-chair of the meeting, said: “Sustainable security cannot be built on weapons of mass destruction, but on cooperation, trust and respect for human life”.
The Director of Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-proliferation at the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, George-Wilhelm Gallhofer, said: “The Treaty demonstrates that multilateral diplomacy can deliver and that we can make real progress towards a world without nuclear weapons through cross-regional cooperation.”
African states have demonstrated global leadership in efforts to rid the world of the existential threat nuclear weapons pose. In 1996, the Treaty of Pelindaba establishing a nuclear free zone in the continent was adopted and African states have been early to join the TPNW. In November this year, the members of the TPNW will hold the treaty’s first Review Conference, under the presidency of South Africa.
Dr. Adedeji Ebo, Deputy to the High Representative for the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs, who attended the conference, said: “The TPNW reinforces the norm that nuclear weapons are not just immoral but also that their possession and use must be prohibited for all States.”
ICAN’s Director of Government Relations and Advocacy, Céline Nahory, said: “If nuclear-armed states were to enter into conflict anywhere in the world, African countries would suffer among the most devastating consequences. That’s why West and Central African states are gathering at this conference to advance the most comprehensive laws and norms against nuclear weapons, through the TPNW.”
