Donate
Philippines
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
 |
 |
 |
|
SIGNED
20 September 2017 |
RATIFIED
18 February 2021 |
IN FORCE
19 May 2021 |
Status
The Philippines has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 19 May 2021.
Signature and ratification
Alan Peter Cayetano, the then-secretary for foreign affairs of the Philippines, signed the TPNW in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017. He urged nuclear-armed states to sign the treaty and said: “If we listen to each other, we will hear the same thing. We have no need for nuclear weapons.”
In September 2020, the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, announced in a video statement to the UN General Assembly that he had “asked the Philippine senate to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”. The senate provided its concurrence on 1 February 2021.
In a statement, Duterte hailed the ratification as a “milestone”, reinforcing the country’s resolve together with the international community in pursuing a world free of nuclear weapons for peace, security, and the survival of all humanity.
The Philippines deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 18 February 2021, becoming the 53rd state to ratify or accede to the TPNW. The foreign ministry held an event on 19 May 2021 to commemorate entry into force of the treaty for the Philippines.
Alan Peter Cayetano, the then-secretary for foreign affairs of the Philippines, signs the TPNW in 2017. Credit: UNOLA
Teodoro L. Locsin Jr, the secretary of foreign affairs of the Philippines, speaks at an event to commemorate the entry into force of the TPNW for the Philippines on 19 May 2021. Credit: Philippine DFA
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, the Philippines submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 17 June 2021 confirming that it does not own, possess, or control nuclear weapons, has never done so, and does not host any other state’s nuclear weapons on its territory.
Per Article 12, the Philippines has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.
In a statement to the United Nations in 2019, the Philippines hailed the TPNW as “a landmark agreement that fortifies the nuclear disarmament architecture” and “delegitimises once and for all the use of nuclear weapons”. In 2021, it said that the treaty “represents efforts towards the universalisation of global norms against nuclear weapons”.
The Center for Peace Education at Miriam College, an ICAN partner organisation in the Philippines, promotes adherence to the TPNW in 2019. Photo: CPE
Meetings of states parties
The Philippines participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. “The humanitarian thrust of the TPNW becomes even more relevant today in the face of an increasingly insecure global security environment,” it said.
Rejecting any role for nuclear weapons in resolving international disputes, it added: “This first meeting provides us the opportunity to act with wisdom, decisiveness, and a renewed sense of purpose and urgency to reinvigorate the nuclear disarmament agenda.”
TPNW negotiations
The Philippines participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.
In its opening statement to the negotiating conference, the Philippines said that it attaches “great importance” to the cause of disarmament, as the country’s constitution “mandates us to adopt and pursue a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in our territory”.
It said that it is cognisant of “present geopolitical realities”, and it is precisely because of these realities that we must work to free the world of nuclear weapons: “There will never be a better time than now to discuss the prohibition of such weapons.”
In its closing statement, the Philippines said that “more important than language unambiguously denouncing nuclear weapons is the hope of getting everyone on board in putting all nuclear weapons firmly on the path of complete, total, and irreversible extinction”.
In 2016, the Philippines co-sponsored the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Bayani S. Mercado, the head of the Philippine delegation to the negotiating conference for the TPNW, delivers a statement in June 2017. Credit: ICAN
Loreta Castro, an ICAN campaigner from the Philippines, delivers a statement during the TPNW negotiations in June 2017. Photo: ICAN
Before the negotiations
The Philippines was among 127 states that endorsed a “humanitarian pledge” in 2015–16 to cooperate “in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit, and eliminate nuclear weapons”. The pledge was instrumental in building momentum and support for convening the TPNW negotiations.
In 2014, a regional roundtable meeting was held in Tagaytay, the Philippines, with officials, academics, and campaigners from across Southeast Asia to discuss “the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and the prospects for a ban”.
Officials and campaigners from across Southeast Asia meet in the Philippines in 2014 to discuss the prospects for a ban on nuclear weapons. Photo: CPE
Students from the Medical Action Group in the Philippines show their support for ICAN at a hospital in Manila in 2013. Credit: ICAN
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
|
|
|
|
SIGNED
20 September 2017 |
RATIFIED
18 February 2021 |
IN FORCE
19 May 2021 |
Status
The Philippines has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 19 May 2021.
Signature and ratification
Alan Peter Cayetano, the then-secretary for foreign affairs of the Philippines, signed the TPNW in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017. He urged nuclear-armed states to sign the treaty and said: “If we listen to each other, we will hear the same thing. We have no need for nuclear weapons.”
In September 2020, the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, announced in a video statement to the UN General Assembly that he had “asked the Philippine senate to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”. The senate provided its concurrence on 1 February 2021.
In a statement, Duterte hailed the ratification as a “milestone”, reinforcing the country’s resolve together with the international community in pursuing a world free of nuclear weapons for peace, security, and the survival of all humanity.
The Philippines deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 18 February 2021, becoming the 53rd state to ratify or accede to the TPNW. The foreign ministry held an event on 19 May 2021 to commemorate entry into force of the treaty for the Philippines.
Alan Peter Cayetano, the then-secretary for foreign affairs of the Philippines, signs the TPNW in 2017. Credit: UNOLA
Teodoro L. Locsin Jr, the secretary of foreign affairs of the Philippines, speaks at an event to commemorate the entry into force of the TPNW for the Philippines on 19 May 2021. Credit: Philippine DFA
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, the Philippines submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 17 June 2021 confirming that it does not own, possess, or control nuclear weapons, has never done so, and does not host any other state’s nuclear weapons on its territory.
Per Article 12, the Philippines has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.
In a statement to the United Nations in 2019, the Philippines hailed the TPNW as “a landmark agreement that fortifies the nuclear disarmament architecture” and “delegitimises once and for all the use of nuclear weapons”. In 2021, it said that the treaty “represents efforts towards the universalisation of global norms against nuclear weapons”.
The Center for Peace Education at Miriam College, an ICAN partner organisation in the Philippines, promotes adherence to the TPNW in 2019. Photo: CPE
Meetings of states parties
The Philippines participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. “The humanitarian thrust of the TPNW becomes even more relevant today in the face of an increasingly insecure global security environment,” it said.
Rejecting any role for nuclear weapons in resolving international disputes, it added: “This first meeting provides us the opportunity to act with wisdom, decisiveness, and a renewed sense of purpose and urgency to reinvigorate the nuclear disarmament agenda.”
TPNW negotiations
The Philippines participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.
In its opening statement to the negotiating conference, the Philippines said that it attaches “great importance” to the cause of disarmament, as the country’s constitution “mandates us to adopt and pursue a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in our territory”.
It said that it is cognisant of “present geopolitical realities”, and it is precisely because of these realities that we must work to free the world of nuclear weapons: “There will never be a better time than now to discuss the prohibition of such weapons.”
In its closing statement, the Philippines said that “more important than language unambiguously denouncing nuclear weapons is the hope of getting everyone on board in putting all nuclear weapons firmly on the path of complete, total, and irreversible extinction”.
In 2016, the Philippines co-sponsored the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Bayani S. Mercado, the head of the Philippine delegation to the negotiating conference for the TPNW, delivers a statement in June 2017. Credit: ICAN
Loreta Castro, an ICAN campaigner from the Philippines, delivers a statement during the TPNW negotiations in June 2017. Photo: ICAN
Before the negotiations
The Philippines was among 127 states that endorsed a “humanitarian pledge” in 2015–16 to cooperate “in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit, and eliminate nuclear weapons”. The pledge was instrumental in building momentum and support for convening the TPNW negotiations.
In 2014, a regional roundtable meeting was held in Tagaytay, the Philippines, with officials, academics, and campaigners from across Southeast Asia to discuss “the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and the prospects for a ban”.
Officials and campaigners from across Southeast Asia meet in the Philippines in 2014 to discuss the prospects for a ban on nuclear weapons. Photo: CPE
Students from the Medical Action Group in the Philippines show their support for ICAN at a hospital in Manila in 2013. Credit: ICAN
[PARTNERS]
Philippine Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Center for Peace Education
Medical Action Group
[LOCALSUPPORT]
No events yet