Sri Lanka accedes to Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Foreign Affairs Minister, Ali Sabry has deposited the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on September 19, 2023, at a high-level ceremony held at the UN Headquarters in New York. 

Accordingly, Sri Lanka is now the 69th state party to the Treaty.

Depositing the legal document on Sri Lanka’s accession to the TPNW took place on the sidelines of the ongoing 78th session of the UN General Assembly.

Sri Lanka participated in the negotiations of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York, which was adopted on July 07, 2017, and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.

Sri Lanka also contributed through active participation in the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) process of 2016 in Geneva which led to the treaty negotiation process.

The island nation has promoted universal adherence to the treaty by consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution that calls upon all states to join the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.

Upon receiving 50 ratifications it entered into force on 22 January 2021.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons prohibits States Parties from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, or stockpiling nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

Sri Lanka’s ratification of the TPNW reaffirms its long-standing commitment to nuclear disarmament in favour of international peace and security. In this context, Sri Lanka also ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 25 July 2023.

UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Aruni Wijewardane, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York Mohan Pieris, and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in New York and the UN Office of Legal Affairs participated in the ceremony.