On 25 September 2018, H.E. Mr. Virasakdi Futrakul, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, deposited Thailand’s instrument of ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) to Mr. Santiago Villalpando, Chief of Treaty Section, United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General, the treaty’s depositary. Mr. Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and Mr. Thomas Markram, Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, also joined in witnessing the ratification ceremony. 

          After the ceremony, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs also had a meeting with Mr. Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the CTBTO to discuss ongoing technical cooperation between Thailand and the CTBTO, including the certification process of the radionuclide monitoring station in Thailand (RN65 Station in Nakhon Pathom) and the recent election of the Thai State Audit Office to serve as CTBTO External Auditor during 2018 - 2019. The Executive Secretary commended such efforts that reflect Thailand’s role and commitments toward ending nuclear tests. He also noted that as Thailand will soon assume the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2019, it is timely that Thailand has ratified the CTBT which made ASEAN the second region where all member states have ratified the Treaty. The Deputy Foreign Minister expressed appreciation for the CTBTO’s support and emphasised the importance of CTBT for Thailand and ASEAN and the complementarities between CTBT and ASEAN’s goal under the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ), which has been implemented for over 20 years.

          Thailand signed the CTBT in 1996 and has continually worked to finalise its national legislation to correspond with all CTBT provisions, namely (1) updating the Atomic Energy for Peace Act of 1961, which is currently called the Nuclear Energy for Peace Act of 2016 and entered into force on 1 February 2017 and (2) enacting the law on privileges and immunities under the CTBT, which entered into force on 28 July 2018.