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
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: compliance in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| 2MSP 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 |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2013, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1978) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2014) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1978) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2007) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (In force 2011) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes (In force 2011) |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
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
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The Congo should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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The Congo should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.