Lesotho
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the Prime Minister of Lesotho, Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane, said that, so long as nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction exist, ‘global peace and security will forever remain fragile’. He called for the total elimination of such weapons.[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 |
| 2MSP delegation size (% women) | 3 (33%) |
| 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 2002, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1999) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1977) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1994) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (12 Jun 1973) |
| 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
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Lesotho pledged to ‘continue to advocate for total destruction and elimination of all nuclear weapons’, as these weapons ‘have no place in modern-day civilisation’. It voiced strong support for the TPNW and reiterated its call ‘to nuclear-weapon States to sign and ratify the TPNW to ensure that humanity lives in peace without fear of extinction’.2
In a statement marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, Lesotho hailed the TPNW’s entry into force as ‘a significant milestone’ and noted ‘the steadily increasing number’ of signatories to the Treaty. It expressed support for ‘all efforts to enhance the institutional fabric of the TPNW’.3
Lesotho participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, which it said offered ‘an opportunity to further institutionalise and strengthen the TPNW, while retaining the energy, dynamism, collaborative and action-orientated way of working’.4
‘We as Lesotho believe that this Treaty can reduce the salience of nuclear weapons and help prompt more urgent action to reduce nuclear risk and promote disarmament in general. We further support the promotion of the universalisation of the Treaty and strongly believe that awareness campaigns through all possible platforms are of paramount importance,’ it said. ‘Hence, our call to those States that have not yet ratified the Treaty to do so.’
Lesotho 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’.5
In January 2023, it participated in an African regional seminar on universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, hosted by the South African foreign ministry.6
Recommendations
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Lesotho should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Lesotho should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.