Somalia
Somalia participated in the negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2017, but did not cast a vote on the adoption of the Treaty. It 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 (Ratified 1970) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | No (Signed 2023) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No (Signed 2006, Pelindaba) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | No (Approved 2025) | |
| AP with the IAEA | No (Approved 2025) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | No (Signed 1972) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Acceded 2013) | |
| 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 (2025) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Did not vote |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Did not vote |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No (Approved 2025) |
Latest developments
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, the African Group, of which Somalia is a member, welcomed ‘the historic adoption of the landmark’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2017, noting that it ‘does not undermine’ the NPT ‘but rather complements and strengthens the regime with the NPT as its foundation’. The Group urged all States that have not yet acceded to the TPNW to do so ‘at an early date’.1
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, the African Group said that it looked forward to the convening of the First Review Conference of the TPNW in 2026 under South Africa’s chairmanship. It reiterated its call for all members of the international community, especially nuclear-armed States and those ‘under the so-called nuclear umbrella’, to sign and ratify the TPNW at an early date and pursue the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.2
Somalia promoted adherence to the TPNW as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review in 2023.
Recommendations
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Somalia should urgently adhere to the TPNW.
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Somalia should ratify the Pelindaba nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) treaty, which it signed in 2006.
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Somalia should conclude and bring into force a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) and an Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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Somalia should ratify the CTBT and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).