Ghana
Ghana 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’.[1] In January 2023, it participated in an African regional seminar on universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, hosted by the South African foreign ministry.[2]
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) | No |
| 2MSP 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 |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2011, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2011) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (12 Feb 1975) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No (Rescinded 2012) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
In a statement marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, Ghana said that instruments such as the TPNW have ‘reaffirmed the strong expectations of the international community for a world free of nuclear weapons’.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Ghana highlighted the entry into force of the TPNW in 2021 and the successful convening of its First Meeting of States Parties in 2022 as encouraging developments. ‘[T]he international community cannot turn a blind eye to the disconcerting reality of ongoing modernisation and enhancements in existing nuclear arsenals,’ it said. ‘This trajectory not only poses a grave threat to global security but also imperils the fundamental values of humanity.’4
Recommendations
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Ghana should urgently ratify the TPNW.