Djibouti
On 9 January 2023, Djibouti became the 92nd signatory to the TPNW. Mohamed Siad Doualeh, the Permanent Representative of Djibouti to the United Nations, signed the TPNW in New York on behalf of the government. In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Djibouti announced that its ratification process for the Treaty was under way. It described the TPNW as complementary to the NPT and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and called on States ‘that have not yet aligned with the TPNW to do so without further delay’.[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 (observer) |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 1 (100%) |
| 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 | No (Signed 1996, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1996) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2005) |
| Party to the BWC | No |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2006) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (26 May 2015) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
Djibouti observed the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, describing it as ‘especially relevant’ given the heightened risk of the use of nuclear weapons. It welcomed the TPNW’s entry into force in 2021 as ‘a step towards a solution’ to the problem of nuclear weapons, and reiterated that the government of Djibouti ‘is currently in the process of ratification’ of the Treaty.2
Djibouti 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 Djibouti also promoted adherence to the TPNW as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review in 2023.
Recommendations
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Djibouti should urgently ratify the TPNW.
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Djibouti should adhere to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).
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Djibouti should ratify the Pelindaba NWFZ Treaty, which it signed in 1996.