Mauritania
Mauritania voted in favour of adopting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the UN Diplomatic Conference in 2017 and has consistently voted in favour of the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, including in 2024. Mauritania 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 1993) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2003) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1998, Pelindaba) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2009) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2009) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2015) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1998) | |
| 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) | Yes (observer) |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 1 (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 | 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, Mauritania called for renewed efforts to achieve the universality of conventions and agreements in the field of nuclear disarmament, in particular the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).1
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Mauritania delivered a statement on behalf of the Arab Group emphasising the importance of the TPNW and the active role of Arab states in its negotiation. The TPNW ‘places nuclear weapons in their logical position as weapons whose possession, use or threat of use conflicts with the most basic rules of international humanitarian law’, it said.2
Mauritania participated in the African Conference on the Universalisation and Implementation of the TPNW in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in September 2024.3
Recommendations
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Mauritania should urgently adhere to the TPNW.