Tanzania
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, Tanzania said that ‘it is encouraging to note that many countries have signed and ratified [the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)]’, and it announced that its own ‘internal ratification process is already ongoing’.1
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No (Signed 2019) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1991) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2004) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1998, Pelindaba) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2005) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2005) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2019) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1998) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| Test | 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 (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes (observer) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes (observer) |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | #N/A |
| 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
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Tanzania said that the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine demonstrate that nuclear weapons pose ‘a serious threat which is significantly increasing’. It warned that ‘the world may soon witness another nuclear war’ if urgent action is not taken for disarmament. It encouraged more countries to join the TPNW to make ‘the dream of a world free from nuclear weapons’ a reality.2
Tanzania 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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Tanzania should urgently ratify the TPNW.