FDD Welcomes Sri Lanka's Accession to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)

 

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