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The Kingdom of Tonga has become the 100th state party or signatory to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the TPNW, by depositing its instrument of accession at the United Nations on 7 July, 2026, exactly nine years after the treaty’s adoption.
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The TPNW, which came into force just over five years ago, already has the support of a clear majority of the 197 states eligible to join it. With Tonga’s accession it has 75 states parties and 25 further signatories, and more countries are expected to join soon. The Kingdom of Tonga is an island nation in the Pacific, a region that has been the site of hundreds of nuclear detonations as the US, UK and France all used the region for so-called testing of their weapons. This has caused ongoing harm to the people of the region and widespread radioactive contamination. As a result, the Pacific has been a leader in international efforts to end the existential threat from nuclear weapons. At the same time as it acceded to the TPNW, Tonga also signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) of 1996 and ratified the High Seas Treaty of 2023. H.E. Mr. Viliami Vaʼinga Tōnē, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Tonga to the United Nations, said “for a Small Island Developing State, these treaty actions represent far more than the fulfilment of legal obligations. They reflect our deeply held conviction that lasting peace, international security, the protection and sustainable stewardship of our oceans, and the progressive advancement of nuclear disarmament are inextricably linked to the well-being of humanity and to the sustainable future to which we collectively aspire.” The TPNW was adopted by the UN in 2017 and came into force in 2021. It bans countries from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, transferring, possessing, stockpiling, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons, or allowing nuclear weapons to be stationed on their territory. It also prohibits them from assisting, encouraging or inducing anyone to engage in these activities. Melissa Parke, Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, said “We congratulate Tonga on its accession to the TPNW. Tonga has become the 75th state party to the treaty. Another 25 states have signed but not yet ratified it. Together, these 100 countries have taken the life-affirming and necessary decision to totally reject nuclear weapons. It is time the nine nuclear-armed countries and other countries that endorse the use of nuclear weapons to get on the right side of history by getting rid of these weapons that pose a constant existential threat to every one of us.” As more countries join the treaty, the diplomatic pressure grows on the nine nuclear-armed states and their allies who support the use of nuclear weapons in their defence doctrines to join it. In particular. the reputational cost of defying the global majority increases with each new signature, ratification or accession, and, as with other treaties prohibiting weapons that cause indiscriminate, lingering harm, like the landmines and cluster munitions bans, countries that previously rejected joining will see they have more to lose by opposing the treaty than by joining it. |
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Right to left: David Nanopoulos, Chief of the Treaty Section at the United Nations; H.E. Viliami Vaʼinga Tōnē, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Tonga to the United Nations; Seth Shelden, ICAN's UN Liaison and General Counsel For more information and interview requests contact: Alistair Burnett, Head of Communications, ICAN: [email protected] +41 78 238 7179
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