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States Parties

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Addressing the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022, Lao PDR described the meeting as ‘a milestone in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation’ and welcomed the Treaty’s entry into force in 2021 as a ‘crucial step toward the complete elimination of nuclear weapons’.[1] On 24 June, the day after the 1MSP, Lao PDR upgraded its Original Small Quantities Protocol (SQP) with the IAEA to a Modified SQP.

TPNW Status

SIGNATURE
21 Sep 2017
DEPOSIT WITH UNSG
26 Sep 2019 (Ratification)
ENTRY INTO FORCE
22 Jan 2021
DECLARATION
Received 2 Feb 2021
TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2022
(a) Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire Compliant
Test Compliant
Possess or stockpile 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 (2022)
Participated in 1MSP (2022) Yes
1MSP delegation size (% women) 4 (75%)
Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) Voted yes
Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) Yes
Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) Voted yes
Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties
Party to an NWFZ Yes (Ratified 1996, Bangkok)
Party to the NPT Yes (Ratified 1970)
Ratified the CTBT Yes (Ratified 2000)
Party to the BWC Yes (Ratified 1973)
Party to the CWC Yes (Ratified 1997)
IAEA safeguards and fissile material
Safeguards agreement Yes
TPNW Art 3(2) deadline N/A
Small Quantities Protocol Yes (Modified)
Additional Protocol No (Signed 2014)
Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants No
HEU stocks No
Plutonium stocks No

Latest developments

At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Lao PDR said that the TPNW ‘complements other disarmament and non-proliferation instruments’ and strengthens the global norm against nuclear weapons.2 In a closing statement to the NPT Review Conference, Lao PDR and 64 other TPNW supporters urged ‘all states committed to attain and maintain a world without nuclear weapons to join the TPNW without delay’.3

In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2022, Lao PDR expressed its strong commitment to the TPNW, noting that the declaration and action plan adopted at the 1MSP ‘will guide the implementation of the Treaty and pave the way for achieving the ultimate goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world’.4

Lao PDR was one of the co-sponsors for the 2022 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.'5

Recommendations

  • Lao PDR should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
  • Lao PDR should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
  • Lao PDR should bring into force its Additional Protocol with the IAEA.
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