Ghana
Ghana is currently examining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) with a view to ratifying it. At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, Ghana reiterated its support for the TPNW and called on states that have not yet joined it to do so ‘without delay’. ‘We must create new paths to abolish nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction,’ it said.1
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No (Signed 2017) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2011) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2011, Pelindaba) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1975) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2004) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes (observer) |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 5 (0%) |
| 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 | Yes |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No (Rescinded 2012) |
Latest developments
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, Ghana called on states to ‘forge a new will to commit fully’ to their obligations under the NPT, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the TPNW. The elimination of nuclear weapons is ‘not merely an aspiration’ but ‘an absolute necessity for the survival of future generations’, it said.2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Ghana said: ‘Though not a substitute for the NPT, the TPNW has introduced a new dimension to the disarmament landscape by addressing the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons. The TPNW complements existing frameworks, underscoring the moral and humanitarian imperatives of disarmament. It serves as a reminder that the elimination of nuclear weapons is not only a political and strategic objective but also a humanitarian necessity.’3
Ghana participated in the African Conference on the Universalisation and Implementation of the TPNW in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in September 2024.4
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’.5
Recommendations
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Ghana should urgently ratify the TPNW.