South Africa
In January 2023, the South African foreign ministry, together with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and the International Committee of the Red Cross, hosted an African regional seminar in Pretoria on universalisation of the TPNW. Delegates representing 37 African States participated. In an opening address, the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Alvin Botes, said: ‘South Africa’s own experience has shown that neither the possession nor the pursuit of nuclear weapons can enhance international peace and security. The continued retention of nuclear weapons based on the perceived security interests of some States comes at the expense of the rest of humanity.’ He called on all African states ‘to sign and ratify the TPNW at the earliest possible opportunity and thus reassert Africa’s leadership in nuclear disarmament and contributing to international peace and security’.[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 |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 4 (25%) |
| 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 1998, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1991) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1999, Annex 2 state) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1995) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (16 Sep 1991) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | 100–1000 kg |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
In a statement marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, South Africa said that the adoption of the TPNW ‘through an inclusive multilateral process within the United Nations framework … reflects the concerns and aspirations of the international community with regard to nuclear weapons’. It also noted that the Treaty ‘represents the highest non-proliferation standard that any State can commit to, thereby strengthening and complementing the NPT’.2
South Africa participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, where it described the worsening international security context as an illustration of ‘the importance of the prohibition of nuclear weapons, the urgency of the work towards a world free of nuclear weapons and an end to nuclear apartheid’. ‘We are observing exceptionally undesirable trends through the increase in the number of States that emphasise the value of nuclear deterrence and place greater reliance on nuclear weapons in their military and security doctrines, the continuation of nuclear weapon modernisation programmes including their delivery systems, and policy pronouncements on stockpile increases,’ it said. ‘There is a rise in nuclear rhetoric while commitments to pursue nuclear disarmament are waning.’ It also noted that the doors to the TPNW ‘have been, are and should always be open’, and said that ‘States have a moral duty to join and we [TPNW states parties] have a moral duty to invite them in, under the TPNW umbrella’.3
At the first Meeting of States Parties in 2022, South Africa and Malaysia were appointed as co-chairs of an informal working group on universalisation of the TPNW, and they reported on their activities to the Second meeting.4 South Africa will continue to serve in this capacity, alongside Uruguay, leading up to the third meeting in 2025.
South Africa 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
Recommendations
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South Africa should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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South Africa should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.