Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone
Unofficial translation from the Vietnamese original.
- Signing date
- 15 December 1995
- Entry into force
- 27 March 1997
Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone , also known as the SEANWFZ Treaty or the Bangkok Treaty, was signed on 15 December 1995 by ten Southeast Asian states. The Treaty entered into force on 27 March 1997 and was registered with the United Nations on 27 June 1997.
The Treaty is an important legal instrument supporting the purposes of ASEAN as set out in the ASEAN Charter, including preserving Southeast Asia as a region free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction. The Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone, together with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), contributes to preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, towards international peace and security.
The Treaty established the third nuclear-weapon-free zone in the world, following the conclusion of the Treaty of Tlatelolco establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) for Latin America and the Caribbean in 1967 and the Treaty of Rarotonga establishing an NWFZ for the South Pacific in 1985.