Namibia
Addressing the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022, Namibia said: ‘We must acknowledge that any use of nuclear weapons has devastating humanitarian consequences, and that these weapons continue to be an existential risk to humanity.'[1] On 25 February 2022, Namibia also acceded to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and on 4 July 2022 it upgraded its Original Small Quantities Protocol (SQP) with the IAEA to a Modified SQP.
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 (2022) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 2 (100%) |
| 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 2012, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1992) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2022) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1995) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| 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 margins of the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Namibia chaired an African Group meeting to promote universalisation of the TPNW.2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2022, Namibia said that it is ‘encouraged by the entry into force of the TPNW and the progress in its implementation’. ‘The TPNW remains a major step towards a world free of nuclear weapons and, if we are genuine in our pursuit towards disarmament, we have a collective responsibility to ensure its universalisation,’ it said.3
In November 2022, in accordance with its Article 12 obligation to promote universal adherence to the TPNW, Namibia recommended that Brazil ratify the TPNW as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review.4
Recommendations
- Namibia should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Namibia should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.