Thailand

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

20 September 2017

IN FORCE

22 January 2021

 

Status

Thailand has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). It was among the original 50 states parties to the treaty when it entered into force on 22 January 2021.

 

Signature and ratification

Don Pramudwinai, the minister for foreign affairs of Thailand, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017. He deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on the same day.

Thailand was the equal first state to ratify the TPNW.

In an address to the United Nations following the signing ceremony, Pramudwinai said that Thailand was proud to be among the first states to ratify the TPNW: “We wish to call on others to do the same.”

In October 2021, Thailand welcomed the entry into force of the TPNW – “the first international legal instrument to completely delegitimise nuclear weapons” – and said that the international community has now “successfully cemented our nuclear disarmament efforts under international law”.

Don Pramudwinai, the minister for foreign affairs of Thailand, signs the TPNW and deposits the instrument of ratification on 20 September 2017. Photo: ICAN

 

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Thailand submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 15 February 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, Thailand 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 2020, Pramudwinai encouraged nations to “keep up this momentum and continue to put in collective efforts both to ratify the treaty and to urge our friends from near and far who have yet to join to do so”.

In a statement to the United Nations in 2019, Thailand said that the TPNW “truly reflects a global call to rid the world of these terrible weapons” and urged “all states to sign and ratify the treaty at the earliest opportunity”.

In 2018, Thailand hosted a regional workshop in Bangkok to encourage all other Southeast Asian states to become parties to the TPNW. Delegations representing nine states from the region attended the workshop.

Officials from across Southeast Asia meet in Bangkok for a regional workshop in 2018 to promote adherence to the TPNW. Photo: Thai MFA

 

Meetings of states parties

Thailand participated in, and served as a vice-president of, the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. It urged states to work together to “cement the treaty’s status as a universal legally binding norm against the existence of nuclear weapons”.

Thailand, together with Ireland, was appointed an informal facilitator “to further explore and articulate the possible areas of tangible cooperation between the [TPNW] and the [Non-Proliferation Treaty], and other relevant nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation instruments”.

 

TPNW negotiations

Thailand 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, Thailand said that the new treaty would be “a concrete and historical step of mankind” that establishes an “international norm” delegitimising nuclear weapons.

In its closing statement, Thailand described the TPNW’s adoption as “a triumph for humanity and a legacy for succeeding generations”.

In 2016, Thailand 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”.

Members of the Thai delegation converse in New York in June 2017 during the second session of the TPNW negotiations. Photo: ICAN

 

Before the negotiations

The permanent representative of Thailand to the United Nations in Geneva, Thani Thongphakdi, chaired a UN open-ended working group on nuclear disarmament in 2016, which recommended that negotiations begin on a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons.

The report of the working group served as the basis for the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly later that year that established the mandate for the TPNW negotiations.

Thailand 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.

Thai ambassador Thani Thongphakdi speaks at an ICAN event in Geneva in 2016 as chair of the UN working group on nuclear disarmament. Photo: ICAN

In 2015, the Thai foreign ministry, together with the International Law and Policy Institute, hosted an Asia–Pacific regional roundtable meeting in Bangkok to discuss “the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and prospects for a ban treaty”.

Government officials and representatives of civil society meet in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2015 to discuss the prospects for a ban treaty. Photo: Thai MFA

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

[HIGHLIGHTS]

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

20 September 2017

IN FORCE

22 January 2021

 

Status

Thailand has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). It was among the original 50 states parties to the treaty when it entered into force on 22 January 2021.

 

Signature and ratification

Don Pramudwinai, the minister for foreign affairs of Thailand, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017. He deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on the same day.

Thailand was the equal first state to ratify the TPNW.

In an address to the United Nations following the signing ceremony, Pramudwinai said that Thailand was proud to be among the first states to ratify the TPNW: “We wish to call on others to do the same.”

In October 2021, Thailand welcomed the entry into force of the TPNW – “the first international legal instrument to completely delegitimise nuclear weapons” – and said that the international community has now “successfully cemented our nuclear disarmament efforts under international law”.

Don Pramudwinai, the minister for foreign affairs of Thailand, signs the TPNW and deposits the instrument of ratification on 20 September 2017. Photo: ICAN

 

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Thailand submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 15 February 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, Thailand 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 2020, Pramudwinai encouraged nations to “keep up this momentum and continue to put in collective efforts both to ratify the treaty and to urge our friends from near and far who have yet to join to do so”.

In a statement to the United Nations in 2019, Thailand said that the TPNW “truly reflects a global call to rid the world of these terrible weapons” and urged “all states to sign and ratify the treaty at the earliest opportunity”.

In 2018, Thailand hosted a regional workshop in Bangkok to encourage all other Southeast Asian states to become parties to the TPNW. Delegations representing nine states from the region attended the workshop.

Officials from across Southeast Asia meet in Bangkok for a regional workshop in 2018 to promote adherence to the TPNW. Photo: Thai MFA

 

Meetings of states parties

Thailand participated in, and served as a vice-president of, the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. It urged states to work together to “cement the treaty’s status as a universal legally binding norm against the existence of nuclear weapons”.

Thailand, together with Ireland, was appointed an informal facilitator “to further explore and articulate the possible areas of tangible cooperation between the [TPNW] and the [Non-Proliferation Treaty], and other relevant nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation instruments”.

 

TPNW negotiations

Thailand 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, Thailand said that the new treaty would be “a concrete and historical step of mankind” that establishes an “international norm” delegitimising nuclear weapons.

In its closing statement, Thailand described the TPNW’s adoption as “a triumph for humanity and a legacy for succeeding generations”.

In 2016, Thailand 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”.

Members of the Thai delegation converse in New York in June 2017 during the second session of the TPNW negotiations. Photo: ICAN

 

Before the negotiations

The permanent representative of Thailand to the United Nations in Geneva, Thani Thongphakdi, chaired a UN open-ended working group on nuclear disarmament in 2016, which recommended that negotiations begin on a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons.

The report of the working group served as the basis for the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly later that year that established the mandate for the TPNW negotiations.

Thailand 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.

Thai ambassador Thani Thongphakdi speaks at an ICAN event in Geneva in 2016 as chair of the UN working group on nuclear disarmament. Photo: ICAN

In 2015, the Thai foreign ministry, together with the International Law and Policy Institute, hosted an Asia–Pacific regional roundtable meeting in Bangkok to discuss “the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and prospects for a ban treaty”.

Government officials and representatives of civil society meet in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2015 to discuss the prospects for a ban treaty. Photo: Thai MFA

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