Namibia joins the Ban Treaty

Namibia has become the latest state to become a party to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons following a unique virtual ceremony involving officials from the United Nations. With the current Coronavirus pandemic placing restrictions on gatherings and travel, officials from Namibia confirmed the move via a video conferencing call.

Namibia is the 36th state to join the Treaty, more than 80 have signed and are currently in the midst of their domestic processes to enable them to formally join. The Treaty will enter into force once 50 states join, that is expected to be later in the year.

Namibia is only the second African state to join the Treaty, following South Africa who did so in February 2019. Many other African states have signed the Treaty, and Africa is a nuclear weapons-free zone following the decision of South Africa to unilaterally disarm in the late 1980s.

The Treaty is a landmark international agreement which will ban nuclear weapons in the same way as chemical and biological weapons are also banned. Christian CND is proud to be a partner of ICAN, which was the driving force behind the Treaty and as a result was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.

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