The African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE) is proud to announce, on this day, 15 July 2022, the 13th anniversary of the African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty – The Treaty of Pelindaba. The month of July also hosts two other important milestones in Africa’s advancement of non-proliferation and disarmament. In July 1964, African Heads of State declared their willingness to denuclearize the continent of Africa and its territorial waters; and in July 1991, the Republic of South Africa signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), after becoming the first (and so far, the only) country in the world to voluntarily give up its nuclear weapons. As we celebrate the entry in force of the Pelindaba Treaty today, we are preparing (with great enthusiasm) to join the rest of the world community in a fortnight at the 10th NPT Review Conference, to continue to chart the way forward together, for a world free of threat of nuclear weapons.
15 July 2022
