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Timor-Leste
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
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SIGNED
26 September 2018 |
RATIFIED
20 June 2022 |
IN FORCE
18 September 2022 |
Status
Timor-Leste has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 18 September 2022.
Signature and ratification
Dionisio Da Costa Babo Soares, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Timor-Leste, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 26 September 2018.
In February 2022, the council of ministers of Timor-Leste approved a draft resolution to ratify the TPNW, and the national parliament adopted it with unanimous support on 25 April 2022.
Speaking in support of the resolution, Adaljíza Magno, the then-minister of foreign affairs, said: “We know the consequence of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and we don’t want the world to experience the same thing.”
José Agostinho Sequeira, the president of the parliamentary committee on security, defence and foreign affairs, hailed it as a significant move in the campaign to abolish nuclear weapons.
Timor-Leste deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 20 June 2022, one day before the first meeting of states parties to the treaty, becoming the equal 63rd state party.
Dionisio Da Costa Babo Soares, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Timor-Leste, signs the TPNW in 2018. Photo: ICAN
Timorese ambassador Karlito Nunes deposits the instrument of ratification in 2022. Photo: UNOLA
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Timor-Leste submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 17 March 2023 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, Timor-Leste has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by 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 2021, Timor-Leste encouraged all states that have not yet done so to become parties to the TPNW and hailed the treaty’s entry into force as “an extraordinary achievement and a step towards the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons”.
In 2019, Timor-Leste said that it views the TPNW “as an important international norm for peace, our collective security, and preservation of human life”.
Meetings of states parties
Timor-Leste attended as an observer the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. (Although Timor-Leste ratified the treaty one day before the meeting, it was considered an observer, as the treaty had not yet entered into force for it.)
Adaljiza Magno, the then-minister of foreign affairs, said that Timor-Leste “continues to believe in the power of peaceful dialogue and constructive role played by all states to promote a conducive atmosphere for a peaceful denuclearisation of the world”.
TPNW negotiations
Timor-Leste 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 2016, Timor-Leste voted in favour of 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”.
Before the negotiations
Timor-Leste 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.
Further information
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
|
|
|
|
SIGNED
26 September 2018 |
RATIFIED
20 June 2022 |
IN FORCE
18 September 2022 |
Status
Timor-Leste has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 18 September 2022.
Signature and ratification
Dionisio Da Costa Babo Soares, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Timor-Leste, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 26 September 2018.
In February 2022, the council of ministers of Timor-Leste approved a draft resolution to ratify the TPNW, and the national parliament adopted it with unanimous support on 25 April 2022.
Speaking in support of the resolution, Adaljíza Magno, the then-minister of foreign affairs, said: “We know the consequence of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and we don’t want the world to experience the same thing.”
José Agostinho Sequeira, the president of the parliamentary committee on security, defence and foreign affairs, hailed it as a significant move in the campaign to abolish nuclear weapons.
Timor-Leste deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 20 June 2022, one day before the first meeting of states parties to the treaty, becoming the equal 63rd state party.
Dionisio Da Costa Babo Soares, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Timor-Leste, signs the TPNW in 2018. Photo: ICAN
Timorese ambassador Karlito Nunes deposits the instrument of ratification in 2022. Photo: UNOLA
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Timor-Leste submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 17 March 2023 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, Timor-Leste has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by 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 2021, Timor-Leste encouraged all states that have not yet done so to become parties to the TPNW and hailed the treaty’s entry into force as “an extraordinary achievement and a step towards the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons”.
In 2019, Timor-Leste said that it views the TPNW “as an important international norm for peace, our collective security, and preservation of human life”.
Meetings of states parties
Timor-Leste attended as an observer the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. (Although Timor-Leste ratified the treaty one day before the meeting, it was considered an observer, as the treaty had not yet entered into force for it.)
Adaljiza Magno, the then-minister of foreign affairs, said that Timor-Leste “continues to believe in the power of peaceful dialogue and constructive role played by all states to promote a conducive atmosphere for a peaceful denuclearisation of the world”.
TPNW negotiations
Timor-Leste 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 2016, Timor-Leste voted in favour of 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”.
Before the negotiations
Timor-Leste 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.
Further information
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