Created in July 2017, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the first globally enforceable multilateral agreement banning nuclear weapons in their entirety.
It is also the first agreement to contain provisions to address the humanitarian consequences associated with the testing and use of nuclear weapons. It complements existing international agreements on nuclear weapons, in particular, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and other agreements establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones.
The NPT was approved by a diplomatic conference at the UN on July 7, 2017 and opened for signature on September 20, 2017. The treaty entered into force on January 22, 2021, following the deposit of the 50th ratification in October 2020.
In its relevance, the NPT prohibits the use, development, testing, production, possession and stockpiling of nuclear weapons. It also makes it unlawful to assist, encourage or induce in any way anyone to engage in any activity prohibited by the treaty. As of January 22, 2021, the treaty is legally binding on the 51 member states that have ratified or acceded to it.
In the words of Simeon Oyono Esono Angue, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, “the world today needs the promise of a future without the fear of annihilation that nuclear weapons can cause. Equatorial Guinea joins the United Nations in saying NO to nuclear and chemical weapons.
For Equatorial Guinea, the Treaty formalizes a legal instrument; our firm international conviction that any use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable, regardless of its basis”.
This year, the following countries have signed the treaty: Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. And the following countries have ratified it: Nigeria, Gambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Benin, Botswana and South Africa.