Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d’Ivoire 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
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2022) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1973) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2003) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1999, Pelindaba) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1983) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2016) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2016) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1995) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 (2025) |
| Participated in 3MSP (2025) | Yes |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 4.67 (20%) |
| 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 | No |
Latest developments
At the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025, Côte d’Ivoire described the Treaty’s entry into force in 2021 as a high point ‘because this Treaty represents the revolutionary culmination of a determined mobilization against the status quo on nuclear disarmament: the establishment of a binding norm prohibiting nuclear weapons’. It noted, however, that the significant challenges in achieving the TPNW’s objectives have only ‘grown in scope and complexity’.1
Côte d’Ivoire underscored the imperative to strengthen the authority of the TPNW, including through ‘a stronger push for its universalization’. ‘It is also necessary to strengthen the effectiveness of the Treaty through a bolder implementation of its provisions, in particular by promoting the establishment of an international nuclear disarmament verification authority for the transparent and irreversible elimination of nuclear weapons,’ it said.
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, Côte d’Ivoire said that eliminating nuclear weapons requires ‘the full implementation of the obligations under the NPT’. ‘It also relies on strengthening the synergy between the NPT and other disarmament mechanisms, notably the [TPNW] and the prohibition norm it establishes,’ it said.2
In the general debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Côte d’Ivoire, Léon Adom, said that his country was ‘proud to be a party to most chemical, biological, and nuclear ban and elimination treaties’.3
At a high-level event on 26 September 2025 marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Côte d’Ivoire said that the forthcoming review conferences of the NPT and the TPNW in 2026 would be ‘crucial opportunities’ to achieve progress towards a nuclear-weapon-free world. ‘We must absolutely see these events as a second chance to get back on track and achieve our noble ambition,’ it said.4
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Côte d’Ivoire said that ‘the question of the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons should be one of the central themes guiding us’ at the NPT and TPNW review conferences. ‘This is a prerequisite for achieving the expected tangible results in terms of disarmament and the total elimination of nuclear weapons,’ it stressed.5
Côte d’Ivoire co-sponsored the 2025 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’.6
In June 2024, Côte d’Ivoire established a National Commission for the Prohibition of Weapons of Mass Destruction ‘with the aim of strengthening its policy on arms control and non-proliferation, especially in the nuclear field’.7
Recommendations
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Côte d’Ivoire should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Côte d’Ivoire should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.