Burundi
Burundi voted in favour of adopting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the UN negotiating conference in 2017 and has consistently voted in favour of the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the TPNW, including in 2025. It maintains policies and practices that are compatible with all of the prohibitions in Article 1 of the TPNW, and can therefore sign and ratify or accede to the Treaty without the need for a change in conduct.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1971) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2008) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2009, Pelindaba) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2007) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2007) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2011) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1998) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| Test | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2025) |
| Participated in 3MSP (2025) | No |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes (observer) |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 1 (0%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Did not vote |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | Yes (Revised) |
Latest developments
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, the African Group, of which Burundi is a member, welcomed ‘the historic adoption of the landmark’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2017, noting that it ‘does not undermine’ the NPT ‘but rather complements and strengthens the regime with the NPT as its foundation’. The Group urged all States that have not yet acceded to the TPNW to do so ‘at an early date’.1
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, the African Group said that it looked forward to the convening of the First Review Conference of the TPNW in 2026 under South Africa’s chairmanship. It reiterated its call for all members of the international community, especially nuclear-armed States and those ‘under the so-called nuclear umbrella’, to sign and ratify the TPNW at an early date and pursue the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.2
Recommendations
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Burundi should urgently adhere to the TPNW.