On 21-23 June 2022, the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs attended the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in Vienna, Austria. The delegation of Thailand stressed the complementary role of the Treaty to the existing disarmament and non-proliferation mechanisms and took part in the planning of an intersessional structure for the implementation of the Treaty in pursuit of a World Free of Nuclear Weapons.

The TPNW, entered into force on 22 January 2021, currently has 65 States Parties and 86 Signatories, with Thailand being one of the first three countries to have signed and ratified on the first day that it was open for signature. The Treaty, built on the deep concern of the risk of nuclear weapons and humanitarian consequences, obliges States Parties never to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons.

In the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW, states parties, signatories and observers, as well as civil society organisations, discussed various issues, including setting the deadlines for the elimination of nuclear weapons at 10 years, for nuclear-armed States which join the TPNW, and for the removal of nuclear weapons at 90 days, for nuclear weapons hosting states; establishing the Scientific Advisory Group to provide technical advice for the implementation of the Treaty, particularly in the areas of verification, victim assistance and environmental remediation; and appointing focal points in several areas to coordinate the upcoming work.

The Meeting adopted a package of outcome document, which consists of (1) the decisions taken by the Meeting; (2) the Vienna Action Plan; and (3) the Declaration “Our Commitment to a World Free of Nuclear Weapons”. They reflect the commitment of the States Parties to promoting the universalisation of and cooperation under the Treaty, as well as concrete steps for its implementation.

In the Meeting, the delegation of Thailand delivered statements during the general exchange of views and under the agenda on “the complementarity of the Treaty with the existing nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime”. The Meeting also appointed Thailand as an informal co-facilitator, together with Ireland, to explore possible areas of cooperation between the Treaty and other relevant nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation instruments. Thailand’s participation in the Meeting emphasised its outstanding role in nuclear disarmament, especially its “bridge-building” role in fostering cooperation among various parties to collectively achieve a World Free of Nuclear Weapons.