Sri Lanka

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

ACCEDED

19 September 2023

IN FORCE

18 December 2023

Status

Sri Lanka has acceded to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 18 December 2023.

Accession

On 19 September 2023, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Sri Lanka, M. U. M. Ali Sabry, deposited his country’s instrument of accession with the UN secretary-general at a high-level ceremony in New York, describing it as a reaffirmation of Sri Lanka’s “long-standing commitment towards nuclear disarmament in favour of international peace and security”.

The following week, Sri Lanka said that, in the “atmosphere of increased nuclear rhetoric”, it took pride “in offering a sense of forward movement [on nuclear disarmament] through its accession”.

The decision to become a state party to the TPNW was first taken by the cabinet of ministers in 2021 and reaffirmed one week prior to the deposit of the instrument of accession. Sri Lanka was the 69th state to ratify or accede to the treaty.

M. U. M. Ali Sabry, the then-minister of foreign affairs, deposits Sri Lanka’s instrument of accession in 2023. Photo: UNOLA

National position

Sri Lanka has described itself as “a stalwart supporter of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”.

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Sri Lanka submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 18 January 2024 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.

As required by Article 3, Sri Lanka has a comprehensive safeguards agreement in force with the International Atomic Energy Agency to guard against the misuse of nuclear facilities and materials. It also has an additional protocol in force.

Per Article 12, Sri Lanka 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 2023, Sri Lanka noted that the TPNW “continues to attract the signature and ratification of a growing number of countries, making the TPNW a truly inclusive treaty”. It called on “all countries who have not signed and ratified the treaty to do so at its earliest”.

Meetings of states parties

Sri Lanka observed the second meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2023. (Although Sri Lanka had already acceded to the treaty, it was not yet in force for Sri Lanka at the time of the meeting, so it was considered an observer.)

“While the doomsday clock moves closer to midnight and conflicts around the world increase in intensity and scope as we witness today in Gaza, the necessity and relevance of a treaty such as the TPNW becomes ever more pronounced,” it said.

Sri Lanka participated in the third meeting of states parties in 2025.

TPNW negotiations

Sri Lanka 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 first statement to the negotiating conference, Sri Lanka said that “the solution to counter the challenge of nuclear weapons lies within multilateralism, in the collective will of the [UN] member states”.

In 2016, Sri Lanka 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”.

Before the negotiations

Sri Lanka 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 Weapons Ban Monitor