During a formal ceremony held at the UN Headquarters in New York on September 19, 2023, Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry deposited the country’s instrument of accession to the TPNW.
As a result, Sri Lanka has joined the Treaty as the 69th state.
On the fringes of the ongoing 78th session of the UN General Assembly, the formal document on Sri Lanka’s admission to the TPNW was deposited.
Sri Lanka took part in the TPNW discussions at the UN in New York, and it was one of the 122 nations that voted in favour of the agreement’s approval on July 7, 2017.
Sri Lanka additionally made a contribution by actively taking part in the Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) procedure in 2016, which was held in Geneva and culminated to the treaty negotiating procedure.
By continuously supporting an annual UN General Assembly resolution that urges all governments to ratify the treaty “at the earliest possible date,” the island nation has worked to promote universal adherence to it.
On January 22, 2021, it went into effect after 50 ratifications.
States Parties are not allowed to create, test, produce, manufacture, buy, store, or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, according to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
In support of global peace and security, Sri Lanka’s ratification of the TPNW underlines its long-standing commitment to nuclear disarmament. On July 25, 2023, Sri Lanka also ratified the CTBT, which prohibits all nuclear tests.
Senior representatives from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York, and the UN Office of Legal Affairs attended the ceremony, along with UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Aruni Wijewardane, and Mohan Pieris, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York.
