South Africa Leader Calls on All States to Ratify Nuclear Weapons Treaty

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called on all countries of the world to ratify the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) without any delay.

“We applaud the adoption by the General Assembly last year of the groundbreaking Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. South Africa will soon deposit its instruments of ratification of this historic treaty. We call on all peace-loving states to ratify the treaty so that it comes into force without any delay,” Ramaphosa said addressing to the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit held on the sidelines of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly.

The TPNW was adopted on July 7, 2017, at the UN Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons. It contains a set of prohibitions, including an obligation not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. So far, the TPNW has been signed by 60 states, and ratified only by 15.