African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE)

Today, on the 15th of July 2024, we are pleased to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty of Pelindaba and the establishment of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE). This month also marks 60 years since The First Ordinary Session of the Assembly of African Heads of State and Government, held in Cairo, Egypt from the 17th to the 21st of July 1964. During this summit, the Cairo Declaration on the De-nuclearization of Africa was adopted. However, there was no progress on its implementation until after South Africa acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on the 10th of July 1991. The month of July gives us much to commemorate and celebrate with regard to progress on non-proliferation, disarmament, and the peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology in Africa.

On 27 June 2024, the AFCONE Executive Secretary, Enobot Agboraw, briefed the Pan-African Parliament's Committee on Transport, Communication, Science and Technology on the opportunities, challenges and strategic pathways in harnessing nuclear energy for sustainable development and energy transition in Africa.

AFCONE and DeepGEO sign pioneering agreement, The African Nuclear Energy Funding Initiative (ANEFI), setting the stage for Africa to take the lead in resolving the perennial issue of radioactive waste at the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The #ANEFI will promote regional cooperation and support African financial and supply chain autonomy, as more and more African countries turn to nuclear power as the central pillar for driving Africa’s energy transition, bridging the energy gap, and engendering sustainable socioeconomic development on the continent. 

The Executive Secretary of AFCONE, Enobot Agboraw, was honoured to brief the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union on the 8th of February 2024, focusing on the prospects and potential of nuclear science and technology at the intersection of health, peace and security on the African continent. His statement delineated the status and opportunities of nuclear medicine on the continent, as well as the role of available and reliable power in ensuring health, security and peace in Africa.

From the 22nd to the 23rd of January 2024, AFCONE convened the 4th session of the 5th Conference of State Parties to the Treaty of Pelindaba in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The meeting was attended by 29 state parties and featured speeches on governance, resource mobilisation and more by key figures within nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation diplomacy including the African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), H.E. Ambassador Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director of the African Center for Science and International Security (AFRICSIS), Mr. Hubert K Foy and the Chief Executive Officer of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), South Africa, H.E. Prof. Eddy Maloka. 

AFCONE Executive Secretary, Enobot Agboraw, and the Ambassador of Tajikistan to Austria, Idibek Kalandar, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone and the Central Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone at the Tajikistan Embassy in Vienna, Austria on the 22nd of December 2023 marking a milestone in inter-regional cooperation on promoting nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament, and the peaceful applications of nuclear science and technology.

At this year’s COP28 Climate Conference in Dubai, Nuclear has come-of-age as a leading option for sustainable energy and climate change mitigation. AFCONE Executive Secretary, Enobot Agboraw, exchanged ideas with climate and energy peers and participated in several panels, including one on "Taking Stock of Nuclear Energy's role in Climate action" hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

During a visit to North-West University / Noordwes-Universiteit yesterday, AFCONE Executive Secretary Enobot Agboraw and Prof. Bismark Tyobeka, Vice Chancellor of the University, held fruitful discussions exploring opportunities for cooperation and synergies between academia, partners and the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE) to domesticate and advance nuclear education in Africa.

We are pleased to announce that we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Nuclear Association for the civilian applications of nuclear energy to support economic growth and sustainable energy development on the African continent. This cooperation confirms our shared commitment to proactively facilitate the wider understanding of civilian nuclear energy and support the development of nuclear energy in African States.