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States parties

Congo

The Republic of the Congo is an example to be followed by other states, as it has adhered to all of the seven key treaties in the legal architecture on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in addition to being party to a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) treaty.

TPNW Status

SIGNATURE
20 Sep 2017
DEPOSIT WITH UNSG
17 May 2022 (Ratification)
ENTRY INTO FORCE
15 Aug 2022
DECLARATION
Received 24 Aug 2022
Key weapons of mass destruction treaties
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Party to the TPNW Yes (Ratified 2022)
Party to the NPT Yes (Ratified 1978)
Ratified the CTBT Yes (Ratified 2014)
Party to an NWFZ Yes (Ratified 2013, Pelindaba)
CSA with the IAEA Yes (In force 2011)
AP with the IAEA Yes (In force 2011)
BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Party to the BWC Yes (Acceded 1978)
Party to the CWC Yes (Ratified 2007)
TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2024
(a) Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire Compliant
Possess or stockpile Compliant
Test 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 (2024)
Participated in 2MSP (2023) Yes
Participated in 1MSP (2022) No
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) Voted yes
Fissile material
Nuclear facilities No
Fissile material production No
HEU stocks No
Plutonium stocks No
SQP with the IAEA Yes (Modified)

Latest developments

In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, the Congo condemned ‘the production and use of nuclear weapons, the destructive effects of which are well known to all’. It called on all states to unite in an effort ‘to achieve a world without nuclear weapons’, beginning with ‘the signing and ratification of all relevant legal instruments relating to them’.1

During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Congo, Jean-Claude Gakosso, said that wars in various parts of the world, the climate crisis and ‘the apocalyptic spectre of nuclear war’ challenge ‘what remains of human wisdom today’ and bring into question ‘what remains of our awareness of good and evil’.2

The Congo participated in the African Conference on the Universalisation and Implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in September 2024.3

It was one of the co-sponsors for the 2024 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which welcomed the Treaty’s entry into force and 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’.4

Recommendations

  • The Congo should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.

  • The Congo should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.

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