Sri Lanka acceded to the TPNW during the ongoing 78th UN General  Assembly at the UN Headquarters   in New York on the 19th September, 2023. Foreign Minister M.U.M. Ali Sabry deposited the instrument of accession to the TPNW, making Sri Lanka the 69th state party to the TPNW.

The Forum on Disarmament and Development (FDD)   which is the Secretariat for Sri Lanka Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Coordinator Vidya Abhayagunawardena welcomes this achievement as a reaffirmation of Sri Lanka’s long-standing commitment towards nuclear disarmament in favour of international peace and security.

Sri Lanka also ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in July this year, 27 years after signature.  Further, Abhayagunawardena stated that “Sri Lanka’s accession to the TPNW and ratification of the CTBT sends a strong message to India and Pakistan, both nuclear armed-states that are still not party to both treaties.”

The FDD published two publications in 2019 on “Why Sri Lanka Should Accede to the TPNW” and “Why Sri Lanka Should Ratify the CTBT” in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages. “These two publications helped in their advocacy work towards Sri Lanka’s accession and ratification of the TPNW and CTBT.” Vidya Abhayagunawardena mentioned.





The Sri Lanka National Mine Action Completion Strategy was launched on the 30th of March, at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo. The attendees at the launch event included officials from the National Mine Action Center, Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Health and the Department of Social Services. Representatives from the GICHD, humanitarian demining organizations as well as the diplomatic community were also present at the launch.




Today, the Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines (SLCBL) met the Director of the National Mine Action Center (NMAC) of Sri Lanka and Secretary to the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing W.S. Sathyananda at the Ministry and presented a translated version (Sinhala and Tamil) of Sri Lanka's section of Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor 2022.  


During the launch, the SLCBL discussed the success of Sri Lanka’s mine action story, as well as important steps that need to be taken to declare Sri Lanka a mine-free country. The SLCBL urged the Secretary to consider the positive implications of the Anti-Personal Mine Ban Convention (APMBC), Convention on Cluster Munition (CCM) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), especially when supported with local legislation. 


During the discussion with the Secretary and officials of the NMAC, the SLCBL stressed the importance and mine-clearance well before 2028, meeting the 10-year obligation under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. Sri Lanka in a process of finalizing and launching the National Mine Action Strategy 2023-2028 soon with the support of Geneva International Center for Humanitarian Disarmament (GICHD).   


The participants on this occasion included: V. Premachandran Deputy Director NMAC; Rohana Jayalath IMSMA (Information Management System for Mine Action) Officer at NMAC; Vidya Abhayagunawardena Coordinator SLCBL and Nimaya Dahanayake, Youth Campaigner SLCBL. The translation work of the Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor was supported by the Investing in Action, a project of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munition Coalitions. 


Click the link below to access the Landmine Monitor:


English- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YPvZadodTyw2i-7ge2i8WOvnjhgkfx2_/view?usp=share_link


Sinhala- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DD3BDgbdkrs-KyT-twdw2Kw43V3nAA5_/view?usp=share_link


Tamil- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TtA_-7g7NQnaPEwNje40FumpHfh5AoHu/view?usp=share_link






The Forum on Disarmament and Development (FDD) had a discussion with the Director General of United Nations and Human Rights of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on engagement with the UN Disarmament treaties and way forward. 

Last December, FDD sent a letter to the President advocating the ratification, accession or engagement with Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War (ERW), Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and UN Programme on Illicit Small Arms (UN PoA). The FDD presented publications on "Why Post-War Sri Lanka Should Accede to the ATT", "Why Sri Lanka Should Accede to the TPNW" and "Why Sri Lanka Should Ratify the CTBT."

The MFA thanked the FDD for its continuous engagement with the Ministry.