Message to the Senate on the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty

To the Senate of the United States:

With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith Protocols I and II to the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty ("the Treaty"), signed on behalf of the United States at Cairo, Egypt, on April 11, 1996. I also transmit for the information of the Senate the Treaty to which these Protocols relate, a third Protocol to the Treaty, and the Department of State's Overview of the Protocols, which includes a detailed article-by-article analysis of both the Protocols and the Treaty.

I am convinced that it is in the best interest of the United States to ratify Protocols I and II to the Treaty. This step will strengthen our relations with our African friends and allies, enhance U.S. security by furthering our global nonproliferation and arms control objectives, demonstrate our commitment to the decisions taken at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and contribute significantly to the realization of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in all its aspects. As the Department of State's Overview of the Protocols explains, entry into force of Protocols I and II for the United States would require no changes in U.S. law, policy, or practice.

I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to Protocols I and II to the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, and give its advice and consent to their ratification, subject to the statements contained in the Department of State's Overview of the Protocols.

Barack Obama

The White House,

May 2, 2011.