Eritrea
Eritrea voted in favour of adopting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the UN negotiating conference in 2017 and has consistently voted in favour of the annual UN General Assembly resolution on the Treaty, including in 2025, when it was also one of the co-sponsors. It maintains policies and practices that are compatible with all of the prohibitions in Article 1 of the TPNW, and can therefore sign and ratify or accede to the Treaty without the need for a change in conduct.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1995) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2003) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No (Signed 1996, Pelindaba) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2021) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2021) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | No | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Acceded 2000) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| Test | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2025) |
| Participated in 3MSP (2025) | No |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| 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 (Revised) |
Latest developments
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, Eritrea delivered a statement on behalf of the African Group, which welcomed ‘the historic adoption of the landmark’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2017, noting that it ‘does not undermine’ the NPT ‘but rather complements and strengthens the regime with the NPT as its foundation’. The Group urged all States that have not yet acceded to the TPNW to do so ‘at an early date’.1
Speaking at a high-level event on 26 September 2025 to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea, Osman Saleh Mohammed, warned: ‘The continued existence of nuclear weapons, and their possible use or threat of use, erodes the maintenance of international peace and security.’ He expressed alarm at the ‘increase in the quantity and quality of new types of nuclear weapons’.2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Eritrea said that the lack of goodwill from nuclear-armed States and their failure to fulfil their legal obligations mean that the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons remains distant, ‘and hence humanity continues to be gravely threatened’. It described the universalization of the TPNW as one of a number of ‘critical steps toward complete denuclearization’.3
Eritrea 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’.4
Recommendations
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Eritrea should urgently adhere to the TPNW.
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Eritrea should ratify the Pelindaba nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) Treaty, which it signed in 1996.
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Eritrea should adhere to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).