Niger has become the 86th state to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, announcing the move just days after Zimbabwe became the 85th. The Treaty will make nuclear weapons illegal from Friday 22 January 2021 having been ratified by 50 states.
At the United Nations earlier in the week 130 states reiterated support for the Treaty, but sadly the United Kingdom and other nuclear-armed states continued to oppose
Niger is the 26th African state to sign the Treaty, with six having already completed the domestic processes for ratification. Those six are Botswana, The Gambia, Nigeria, Lesotho, South Africa and Namibia. Niger will join the other states in concluding its process for formally joining the Treaty through ratification. There are many states posted to officially join the Treaty in the coming weeks and that number is expected to continue to grow after it becomes part of international law.
Africa is one of many nuclear weapons-free zones around the world, thanks to the Treaty of Pelindaba, which entered into legal force in 2009. South Africa is the only African state to have possessed nuclear weapons, but they were given up at the end of the 1980’s and South Africa is now a leading voice for nuclear disarmament in the international arena.
Please join us as we thank God for the decision of the Government of Niger to sign the Treaty and pray that they would quickly be able to complete the ratification. Also pray that more states, including the 9 nuclear-armed states, would be willing to engage with the Treaty in the weeks and months to come as the build up continues towards the Treaty entering into law.
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