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An African contribution to the nuclear weapons debate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2016

Sarah J. Swart
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Abstract

The current initiative on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons has offered States the opportunity to reinvigorate the disarmament debate. While Africa has taken this opportunity to engage on nuclear disarmament, the impact of its efforts remains to be seen. The purpose of this article is to recall the value of African engagement, and to identify the important role that South Africa could play in leading the African continent in its call for a world free of nuclear weapons.

Keywords

Africanuclear weaponsdisarmamentSouth AfricaTreaty of Pelindaba
Type
Regional perspectives
Information
International Review of the Red Cross , Volume 97 , Issue 899: The human cost of nuclear weapons , September 2015 , pp. 753 - 773
Copyright
Copyright © icrc 2016 

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References

1 Ubuntu diplomacy can be loosely translated as humanitarian diplomacy. See “2011 White Paper on South Africa's Foreign Policy: Building a Better World, the Diplomacy of Ubuntu”, 13 May 2011, available at: www.gov.za/documents/white-paper-south-african-foreign-policy-building-better-world-diplomacy-ubuntu (all internet references were accessed in November 2015). A white paper is a discussion document that serves as a broad statement of government policy. See “How a Law is Made”, available at: www.parliament.gov.za/live/content.php?Item_ID=1843. For more on the principle of Ubuntu, see below.

2 Sarah J. Swart, “A New Dawn in the Nuclear Weapons Debate: A Role for Africa?”, African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law, 2013, p. 17.

3 For instance, twenty-one African States attended the Wellington Conference in February 2008; thirty-nine African States attended the Vienna Conference in December 2007; seven African States attended the Belgrade Conference for affected States in October 2007; and fourteen African States attended the Lima Conference in May 2007. Gugu Dube, Negotiating the Convention on Cluster Munitions: The Role of African States, ISS Paper No. 187, Institute for Security Studies, June 2009, available at: www.issafrica.org/acpst/papers/negotiating-the-convention-on-cluster-munitions-the-role-of-african-states.

4 Sheila N. Mweemba, “The Role of African States”, in Arielle Denis (ed.), Banning Nuclear Weapons: An African Perspective, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), October 2014, p. 8.

5 “Wider Impact and Longer-Term Consequences”, International Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, introductory comments by Ambassador Mxakato-Diseko for Session II, 4 and 5 February 2013, available at: www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/foreign-affairs/humanitarian-efforts/statements_humimpact/id715939/.

6 French atmospheric and underground nuclear tests took place in the Sahara in the early 1960s, resulting in “significant radioactive fallout in several African countries”. Helle Winge Laursen, Africa and Nuclear Weapons: An Introduction to the Issue of Nuclear Weapons in Africa, International Law and Policy Institute (ILPI) Background Paper No. 1/2012, February 2012, pp. 5–11, available at: http://nwp.ilpi.org/?p=1489#more-1489.

7 See World Nuclear Association, “Uranium in Africa”, February 2015, available at: www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Others/Uranium-in-Africa/#.UjrkjKymjQI; Amelia Broodryk and Shaun Edge, “International Nuclear Security: Why Africa Must Make Its Voice Heard”, ISS Today, 24 March 2013, available at: www.issafrica.org/iss-today/international-nuclear-security-why-africa-must-make-its-voice-heard. See also Amelia Broodryk and Noël Stott (eds), Progress Towards Securing Africa's Nuclear Resources, ISS, 2011, p. 31.

8 While there is only one nuclear power station currently operating in Africa (that is, two nuclear reactors units at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station in South Africa), various African States have expressed interest in producing nuclear energy, including Algeria, the DRC, Egypt, Ghana, Libya, Morocco and Nigeria. See International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Research Reactors in Africa, November 2011, available at: www.iaea.org/OurWork/ST/NE/NEFW/Technical_Areas/RRS/documents/RR_in_Africa.pdf.

9 According to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) the effects of a nuclear weapons explosion are not constrained by time or space. See ICJ, Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion, ICJ Reports 1996, 8 July 1996, para. 226.

10 S. N. Mweemba, above note 4.

11 The same cannot necessarily be said for South African government institutions: while the South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction is well established, it has arguably played a remarkably backseat role in influencing the government position and in promoting disarmament, at least publicly.

12 Andrey Baklitskiy, “The 2015 NPT Review Conference and the Future of the Nonproliferation Regime”, Arms Control Today, 8 July 2015, available at: https://armscontrol.org/ACT/2015_0708/Features/The-2015-NPT-Review-Conference-and-the-Future-of-the-Nonproliferation-Regime.

13 Wilfred Wan, “Why the 2015 NPT Review Conference Fell Apart”, United Nations University Centre for Policy Research, 28 May 2015, available at: http://cpr.unu.edu/why-the-2015-npt-review-conference-fell-apart.html.

14 See Jakob Kellenberger, “Bringing the Era of Nuclear Weapons to an End”, statement to the Geneva Diplomatic Corps, 20 April 2010, available at: www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/statement/nuclear-weapons-statement-200410.htm. This document is also available in the “Reports and Documents” section of this issue of the Review.

15 Ibid.

16 “Conference: Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons”, 4–5 March 2013, available at: www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/foreign-affairs/humanitarian-efforts/humimpact_2013/id708603/.

17 Ibid.

18 Christine Beerli, “Nuclear Weapons Must Be Prohibited and Eliminated Once and for All”, statement at the Second Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, 13–14 February 2014, available at: www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/statement/2014/02-13-nuclear-weapons-statement.htm.

19 ICAN, Nayarit – A Point of No Return: Mexico Conference 2014, April 2014, p. 7.

20 Ibid.

21 “Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, 8 to 9 December 2014: Report and Summary of Findings of the Conference”, available at: www.bmeia.gv.at/fileadmin/user_upload/Zentrale/Aussenpolitik/Abruestung/HINW14/HINW14_Chair_s_Summary.pdf.

22 Pledge presented at the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons by Austrian Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Linhart (Austrian pledge), available at: www.bmeia.gv.at/fileadmin/user_upload/Zentrale/Aussenpolitik/Abruestung/HINW14/HINW14_Austrian_Pledge.pdf.

23 ICAN, “Humanitarian Pledge: Stigmatize, Prohibit and Eliminate Nuclear Weapons”, 10 February 2016, available at: www.icanw.org/pledge/.

24 Only Mauritania and Western Sahara have not participated, whereas Morocco attended all three conferences.

25 See #HINW14vienna Statements, available at: www.bmeia.gv.at/en/european-foreign-policy/disarmament/weapons-of-mass-destruction/nuclear-weapons-and-nuclear-terrorism/vienna-conference-on-the-humanitarian-impact-of-nuclear-weapons/statements/.

26 Other joint country statements were issued by the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, by the Non-Aligned Movement, and by the Association of South-East Asian Nations. See ibid.

27 Niger, Uganda, Djibouti, Lesotho, Zambia, Libya, Malawi, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, Congo, Togo, Algeria, Mali, South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Chad and Comoros. See ibid.

28 Malawi Statement by Aubrey Kabisala, Delegate, Foreign Service Office (Political Affairs), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Vienna, 9 December 2014. See ibid.

29 Statement by Michael A. O. Oyugi during the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, 8–9 December 2014. See ibid.

30 Statement delivered by the Ambassador/Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency G. T. Mutandiro, on the occasion of the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, 8–9 December 2014. See ibid.

31 Patricia Lewis, “The Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons: A Workshop for Humanitarian Organizations”, Institute for Security Studies and Chatham House London in South Africa workshop, presentation on file with author, October 2013.

32 Noël Stott, “2014: The Year to Negotiate an International Ban on Nuclear Weapons?”, ISS Today, 22 January 2014, available at: www.issafrica.org/iss-today/2014-the-year-to-negotiate-an-international-ban-on-nuclear-weapons.

33 Anthony Andanje, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya to the UN in Geneva, statement during the General Debate of the First Committee on all Disarmament and International Security Agenda Items (Items 87–104), 69th Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament and International Security, 13 October 2014, available at: https://unoda-web.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/special/meetings/firstcommittee/69/pdfs/GD_13_Oct_Kenya.pdf.

34 Sabri Boukadoum, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Algeria, statement to the UN at the thematic debate of the First Committee on Nuclear Weapons, 69th Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament and International Security, 20 October 2014, available at: https://unoda-web.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/special/meetings/firstcommittee/69/pdfs/TD_NW_21_Oct_Algeria.pdf.

35 “Rejecting Calls for ‘Wholesale’ Approaches to Disarmament, United States Speaker Tells First Committee Achievable Results Will Not Be Realized Overnight”, UN General Assembly Meetings Coverage, 20 October 2014, available at: www.un.org/press/en/2014/gadis3506.doc.htm.

36 ICAN, “UNGA First Committee Adopts Resolutions Demanding Action on Humanitarian and Ethical Concerns about Nuclear Weapons”, 11 November 2015, available at: www.icanw.org/campaign-news/unga-first-committee-adopts-resolutions-demanding-action-on-humanitarian-and-ethical-concerns-about-nuclear-weapons/.

37 H. W. Laursen, above note 6.

38 Ibid.

39 Nuclear Threat Initiative, “Conference on Disarmament (CD)”, 23 October 2015, available at: www.nti.org/treaties-and-regimes/conference-on-disarmament/.

40 H. W. Laursen, above note 6.

41 Ibid.

42 Ibid.

43 Georgina te Heuheu, “De-alerting Group General Debate Statement: 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 3–28 May 2010”, in New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Statements and Speeches 2010, 4 May 2010, available at: www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/_securedfiles/Peace-Rights-and-Security/De-alerting-Group-General-Debate-Statement-2010-NPT-Review-Conference.pdf.

44 Noël Stott, “Africa and the Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons”, ISS Today, 1 March 2013, available at: www.issafrica.org/iss-today/africa-and-the-humanitarian-consequences-of-nuclear-weapons; Noël Stott, “Nuclear Weapons and their Consequences: The Relevance of International Humanitarian Law”, ISS Today, 24 May 2012, available at: www.issafrica.org/iss-today/nuclear-weapons-and-their-consequences-the-relevance-of-international-humanitarian-law.

45 H. W. Laursen, above note 6.

46 A. Kabisala, above note 28.

47 S. N. Mweemba, above note 4.

48 In 2008 Zambia hosted a continental conference to draft a joint declaration in anticipation of upcoming treaty negotiations. Borrie refers to the African bloc as a force during the Dublin negotiations due to those countries' coordination by Zambia as well as their unity following the 2008 continental conference. See John Borrie, Unacceptable Harm: A History of How the Treaty to Ban Cluster Munitions Was Won, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), New York and Geneva, 2009, p. 258.

49 Nigeria has been recognized for coordinating the African group throughout the process of negotiation of the treaty, as well as for being the first African State to ratify the treaty. See “Nigeria Becomes First African Country to Ratify Arms Trade Treaty”, Premium Times, 13 August 2013, available at: www.premiumtimesng.com/news/142705-nigeria-becomes-first-african-country-to-ratify-arms-trade-treaty.html.

50 Cited in ICAN, “Celebrating 20 years of South African Democracy and Nuclear Disarmament: South Africa Considers Follow-Up to the Vienna Conference”, 20 May 2014, available at: www.icanw.org/campaign-news/south-africa-considers-follow-up-to-the-vienna-conference/.

51 While a number of other States have dismantled their nuclear programmes, South Africa remains the only State to ever voluntarily dismantle its entire nuclear weapons arsenal. For more information on the disarmament process in South Africa, see Nic von Wielligh, The Bomb: South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Programme, Litera Publications, Pretoria, 2015.

52 S. J. Swart, above note 2, p. 22.

53 Jack Boureston and Jennifer Lacey, “Shoring Up a Crucial Bridge: South Africa's Pressing Nuclear Choices”, Arms Control Today, 1 January 2007, available at: www.armscontrol.org/print/2293.

54 Ibid.

55 Isaac Adams, “Limited Capability: A History and Review of South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Programme”, The Monitor: Journal of International Studies, Vol. 8, No. 1, 2001.

56 It is worth pointing out that other countries have abandoned their nuclear weapons programmes, but unlike South Africa they did so before developing nuclear weapons capability. These include Argentina and South Korea. See David Albright, “South Africa's Nuclear Weapons Program”, Institute for Science and International Security, 14 March 2001, available at: http://web.mit.edu/ssp/seminars/wed_archives01spring/albright.htm.

57 Ibid.

58 I. Adams, above note 55.

59 F. W. de Klerk “South Africa, the Nation that Gave Up Its Nukes”, Los Angeles Times, 22 December 2013, available at: www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-deklerk-south-africa-nukes-20131222-story.html.

60 D. Albright, above note 56.

61 See, e.g., “Media Statement by Deputy Minister Ebrahim on International Relations Issues”, 9 April 2013, available at: http://www.dfa.gov.za/docs/speeches/2013/ebra0409.html.

62 D. Albright, above note 56.

63 I. Adams, above note 55.

64 Ambassador Abdul Samad Minty, Permanent Representative of the Republic of South Africa to the Conference on Disarmament, statement, 1 September 2011, available at: www.dfa.gov.za/docs/speeches/2011/mint0901.html.

65 van Wyk, Jo-Ansie, “South Africa's Nuclear Diplomacy since the Termination of the Nuclear Weapons Programme”, South African Journal of Military Studies, Vol. 42, No. 1, 2014, p. 84Google Scholar.

66 Statement by South Africa at the Third International Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, Vienna, 9 December 2014, available at: www.bmeia.gv.at/fileadmin/user_upload/Zentrale/Aussenpolitik/Abruestung/HINW14/Statements/HINW14_Statement_South_Africa.pdf.

67 African Union, “List of Countries which Have Signed, Ratified/Acceded to the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (The Treaty of Pelindaba)”, 28 January 2014, available at: www.au.int/en/treaties/african-nuclear-weapon-free-zone-treaty-pelindaba-treaty.

68 UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, “Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zones”, available at: http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NWFZ.shtml.

69 Noël Stott, “Nuclear Weapons: The Treaty of Pelindaba and Current Debates”, presentation on file with author, 16 August 2012.

70 Noël Stott, “The Treaty of Pelindaba: Towards the Full Implementation of the African NWFZ Treaty”, ISS Guide, 2011.

71 van Wyk, Jo-Ansie, “No Nukes in Africa: South Africa, the Denuclearisation of Africa and the Pelindaba Treaty”, Historia, Vol. 57, No. 2, 2012Google Scholar.

72 Oluyemi Adeniji, The Treaty of Pelindaba on the African Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone, UNIDIR/2002/16, UNIDIR, 2002.

73 African Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone (ANWFZ) Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba), 20 October 2015 (entered into force 15 July 2009), available at: www.nti.org/treaties-and-regimes/african-nuclear-weapon-free-zone-anwfz-treaty-pelindaba-treaty/.

74 See, e.g., N. Stott, above note 70.

75 Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act No. 87, 1993, available at: www.thedti.gov.za/nonproliferation/legislation.htm.

76 See South Africa Transvaal Provincial Division, The State v. Daniel Geiges and Gerhard Wisser, Case No. CC332/2005, Indictment, July 2006, available at: www.isis-online.org/peddlingperil/southafrica.

77 South African Government, “A Minty Welcomes Conviction of G Wisser”, press release, 5 September 2007, available at: www.gov.za/minty-welcomes-conviction-g-wisser.

78 UN Office at Geneva, “Conference on Disarmament Considers Issues relating to Rules of Procedure: Considers Proposal on Civil Society Participation”, 4 February 2015, available at: www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/%28http://NewsByYear_en%29/2B4FCBBF5CCFE069C1257DE2006163C4?OpenDocument.

79 South Africa, statement during the thematic debate on nuclear weapons, 69th Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament and International Security, 20 October 2014, available at: https://unoda-web.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/special/meetings/firstcommittee/69/pdfs/TD_NW_20_Oct_SouthAfrica.pdf.

80 “SA, Russia Condemn DPRK Nuclear Test”, South African Government News Agency, 12 February 2013, available at: www.sanews.gov.za/world/sa-russia-condemn-dprk-nuclear-test.

81 Statement by South Africa, above note 66.

82 “2011 White Paper on South Africa's Foreign Policy”, above note 1.

83 Elissa Jobson, “African Union chooses first female leader”, The Guardian, 16 July 2012, available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/16/african-union-first-female-leader.

84 Jefferson Morley, “ATT Parties Hold First Conference”, Arms Control Today, 3 September 2015, available at: https://www.armscontrol.org/ACT/2015_09/News/ATT-Parties-Hold-First-Conference.

85 “2011 White Paper on South Africa's Foreign Policy”, above note 1.

86 Tim Wright, “Australia's Opposition to a Ban on Nuclear Weapons”, ICAN Briefing Paper, 28 August 2013.

87 J. A. van Wyk, above note 65, p. 95.

88 J. Boureston and J. Lacey, above note 53.

89 Statement by South Africa, above note 66.

90 ICAN, above note 50.

91 S. N. Mweemba, above note 4, p. 4.

92 Ibid., p. 2.