Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2021-12-20

Signing of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)

- The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted at the United Nations Organization on 07th July 2017 as the first globally applicable multilateral agreement to prohibiting nuclear weapons, with the support of 122 states. The said Treaty has been effective since 22nd January 2021 and has 86 signatories and 57 ratifications. Sri Lanka supported the adoption of this Treaty by voting in favour at the United Nations Conference and constantly promotes the universal adherence to the same. The said Treaty prohibits the participating states from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, transferring, possessing, stockpiling nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices and threatening to use them or allowing to station such nuclear weapons in their territory and assisting, encouraging or inducing anyone to engage in any of such activities as well. Signing this Treaty is entirely consistent with Sri Lanka's principled stance against Weapons of Mass Destruction and in favour of nuclear disarmament. Accordingly, the proposal made by the Foreign Minister to sign the said Treaty by Sri Lanka and initiate the process of reviewing national legislation with a view to completing its ratification processes as soon as possible, was approved by the Cabinet.