The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has reported that Indonesia, Sierra Leone and Solomon Islands are the latest countries to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW or Treaty), also known as the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty.
The ministers of foreign affairs from each of these countries deposited their respective instruments of ratification at a high-level ceremony in New York on September 24, 2024.
A total of 73 states parties have now ratified the TPNW, while a further 25 states parties are signatories.
Indonesia’s parliament, or People’s Representative Council, unanimously approved ratification of the Treaty in November 2023. According to the foreign ministry, Indonesia had already added supportive laws and regulations to its national regulatory system in order to accommodate the Treaty.
Indonesia is the seventh member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ratify the TPNW after Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia and the Philippines.
ICAN’s executive director, Melissa Parke, praised Indonesia for its action. “This is a very significant, welcome development for the treaty, and for international security,” she said. “Indonesia has shown principled leadership in the field of nuclear disarmament at a time when the world is facing growing nuclear risks.”
Sierra Leone has become the 17th African state to ratify the TPNW. Its parliament approved ratification of the TPNW earlier this year. Speaking on behalf of the government, Timothy Musa Kabba, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, expressed the nation’s hope that the TPNW will “end the long impasse” in multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations “to achieve the goal of total elimination of nuclear weapons”.
In addition, the Solomon Islands has become the 11th Pacific island state to join the TPNW. Peter Shanel Agovaka, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, signed the TPNW on behalf of the government at the high-level ceremony in New York and deposited the country’s instrument of ratification at the same time.
Pacific island states have become vocal advocates for the total elimination of nuclear weapons after more than 300 nuclear test explosions were conducted in the Pacific region by the United States, the United Kingdom and France between 1946 and 1996. These nuclear test explosions continue to have devastating health and environmental consequences for many people in the region.
More information on the TPNW’s signature and ratification status can be found here.