Côte d'Ivoire
In a statement marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, Côte d’Ivoire expressed its ‘uncompromising support’ for the TPNW and renewed its plea for ‘the universalisation of this Treaty and its call, in particular to countries possessing nuclear weapons, to adhere to it in order to strengthen its scope and its application’.[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Test | Compliant | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compliant |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compliant |
| (d) | Use | Compliant |
| Threaten to use | Compliant | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compliant |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compliant |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compliant |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| 2MSP delegation size (% women) | 5 (20%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1999, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1973) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2003) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2016) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1995) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (8 Sep 1983) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
Côte d’Ivoire participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, where it noted ‘the growing importance assumed by the TPNW’ given its ‘continuously increasing’ membership and ‘the resounding success’ of the First Meeting of States Parties. Côte d’Ivoire also emphasised the TPNW’s ‘essential role as a new standard filling a legal gap’ in international law and its complementarity not only with treaties prohibiting other weapons of mass destruction, but also with other elements of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation architecture. It said that the TPNW has resulted in ‘better recognition of the humanitarian and environmental consequences of the use of nuclear weapons’ and relaunched ‘the international debate on the need to achieve nuclear disarmament’, and described the Treaty’s initial results as encouraging and called on States parties ‘to consolidate this dynamic momentum with a view to strengthening the authority, scope and effectiveness of this instrument’. Finally, Côte d’Ivoire said that universalisation of the TPNW must remain a priority. ‘In this regard, we need to better explain [the Treaty’s] role and its impact for an irreversible, verifiable and transparent elimination of nuclear weapons and, therefore, its important contribution to building a world free of these weapons.’2
Côte d’Ivoire was one of the co-sponsors for the 2023 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which called upon ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to the Treaty at the earliest possible date’.3
In January 2023, it participated in an African regional seminar on universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, hosted by the South African foreign ministry.4
Recommendations
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Côte d’Ivoire should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.