Indonesia
Indonesia deposited its instrument of ratification for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at a high-level ceremony in New York on 24 September 2024, becoming the Treaty’s largest state party by population.1 Indonesia is an example to be followed by other states, as it has now adhered to all of the seven key treaties in the legal architecture on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in addition to being party to a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) treaty.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2024) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1979) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2012, Annex 2 state) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1997, Bangkok) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1980) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1999) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1992) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1998) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| Test | Compliant | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compliant |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compliant |
| (d) | Use | Compliant |
| Threaten to use | Compliant | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compliant |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compliant |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compliant |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes (observer) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes (observer) |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 8 (26.5%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | Yes |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No |
Latest developments
According to the then-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, Indonesia's decision to ratify the TPNW in 2024 aligned with Indonesia’s constitutional mandate to promote peace and security, and sent a clear message to the world that ‘the possession and use of nuclear weapons cannot be justified for any reason’. ‘I hope that more countries will ratify the TPNW to put pressure on nuclear-possessing countries and also to create strong anti-nuclear weapons norms,’ she added.2
According to the government, Indonesia has already established supportive laws and regulations to accommodate the Treaty into its national regulation system.3
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, Indonesia said that the global disarmament architecture ‘continues to deteriorate’, with the TPNW being the only initiative ‘offering us some optimism’. It called upon ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the TPNW as soon as possible, to reaffirm [their] commitment to nuclear disarmament’.4
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, the Indonesia stated that it ‘refuses to stand aside while the threat of nuclear war today is higher than at any point during the Cold War.’5
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Indonesia said that its ‘commitment to realising a nuclear-weapon-free world is reaffirmed through our ratification of the TPNW’. It called on ‘all countries to follow suit’.6 ‘Let us ensure that our future generations do not inherit a world haunted by the spectre of nuclear destruction,’ it said.7
Indonesia was one of the co-sponsors for the 2024 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which called upon ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to the Treaty at the earliest possible date’.8
Recommendations
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Indonesia should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Indonesia should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.