Skip to main content
States parties

Namibia

In a statement marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, the Deputy Prime Minister of Namibia, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, said that Namibia’s ratification of the TPNW and various other disarmament treaties ‘stands as a testament to our collective commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons’.[1]

TPNW Status

SIGNATURE
8 Dec 2017
DEPOSIT WITH UNSG
20 Mar 2020 (Ratification)
ENTRY INTO FORCE
22 Jan 2021
DECLARATION
Received 21 Feb 2021
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
1MSP delegation size (% women) 2 (50%)
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 (15 Apr 1998)
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, Namibia said that it remained ‘concerned by the reluctance of nuclear-weapon states to join the TPNW’, adding that the TPNW ‘can earnestly contribute to a world free of nuclear weapons’ and ‘its universalisation is key’.2

Namibia participated in, and served as a vice-president of, the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, which it described as ‘an important opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the Treaty and take concrete steps towards its universalisation and implementation’. ‘The TPNW is anchored in the fundamental principles of international law, including the right to life, the right to peace and the non-use of force. It fills a critical void in the existing nuclear disarmament architecture. … [It] is a powerful symbol of our shared aspiration for a safer and more secure world. It represents a powerful affirmation of the shared responsibility of all States to protect humanity from the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons,’ Namibia said.3

Namibia 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’.4

In January 2023, Namibia participated in an African regional seminar on universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, hosted by the South African foreign ministry.5

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.

Can you help us update this state profile? Send e-mail
Did you find this interesting?
Print state profile