Gabon
Gabon 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 resolutions on the TPNW, including in 2024, when it was also a co-sponsor of the resolution. Gabon 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 1974) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2000) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2007, Pelindaba) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2010) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2010) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2007) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2000) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 (2024) |
| 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 (Modified) |
Latest developments
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, the Minister of National Defence of Gabon, Brigitte Onganoa, said that her country was ‘committed to contributing actively to the achievement of a world free of all nuclear threats’.1
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Gabon expressed its concern that ‘conflicts in Europe and the Middle East are … exacerbating geopolitical tensions and dangerously increasing the risk of nuclear escalation’. It called for greater efforts to implement treaties such as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), ‘which are pillars of the international disarmament architecture’.2
Recommendations
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Gabon should urgently adhere to the TPNW.