Nuclear weapons‐free zones

Abstract

In April 1996, the latest agreement on establishing weapons‐free zones, the African Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty (or the Treaty of Pelindaba), was signed in Cairo by more than 40 African nations. By this treaty, African nations pledge not to build, test, bury, or stockpile nuclear weapons or nuclear weapons material. A Washington Post article claimed the treaty was “... a culmination of work which began as a response to French nuclear tests in the Sahara desert in the 1960s ...,” thus typifying how long these weapons‐free zones take to evolve.