Colombo, (Samajweekly) Sri Lanka has sent a “strong message” to its two nuclear-armed neighbours – India and Pakistan – by acceding to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), said an official associated with the island nation’s disarmament forum.
A spokesman for the Forum on Disarmament and Development (FDD), the local arm of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) said that the move is a huge achievement not only for Sri Lanka but also for the entire South Asian region.
“Sri Lanka is surrounded by two nuclear weapon states which are India and Pakistan. Sri Lanka’s accession to the TPNW sends a strong message to both nuclear-weapon states India and Pakistan,” Vidya Abhayagunawardena, Coordinator for the FDD in Sri Lanka said welcoming the achievement as “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, 27 years after the Treaty was open for signature at the United Nations, New York.
Sri Lanka was among the first signatories of the CTBT in October 1996, just days after the Treaty opened for signature.
Sri Lanka joined the TPNW bringing the tally of signatories to 93 – close to half of all states in the world – and States Parties to 69.
Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Ali Sabry joined the Foreign Minister of the Bahamas to ink the landmark accord at a ceremony in New York during the annual United Nations Leaders’ Week.
Negotiated in 2017 and in force since 2021, the TPNW is the first multilateral agreement to outlaw nuclear weapons in a comprehensive manner and establish a framework for their elimination and for assisting victims of their use and testing.
