Communiqué from the Member States of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) on the 52nd Anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatelolco and in the year in which the Agency celebrates 50 years of operation
February 14th 2019
Download PDF
English
Portuguese
The 33 Member States of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL):
1. Celebrate on this day the 52nd Anniversary of the adoption of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean – Treaty of Tlatelolco.
2. They also commemorate the fact that, in 2019, OPANAL celebrates 50 years of continuous work, ensuring the full implementation of the Treaty of Tlatelolco and affirming itself as the only regional intergovernmental organization that contributes effectively to nuclear disarmament and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
3. They remember that, for more than five decades, the Treaty of Tlatelolco, counting on the permanent work of OPANAL, has guaranteed that Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as large spaces adjacent to their territories, remain free of nuclear weapons, without prejudice to the exercise of the inalienable right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. This Treaty is respected by the six States Parties to the Additional Protocols to the Treaty of Tlatelolco: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China and the Netherlands.
4. They highlight that the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which created the first Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in a densely populated area, has served as an inspiration for four other regions of the world. They also consider that the Treaty and OPANAL constitute an important heritage of the international community, and in turn, a political, legal and institutional reference for the creation of other nuclear weapon-free zones, through freely agreed arrangements between States of the interested region. .
5. They emphasize that militarily denuclearized zones do not constitute an end in themselves, but rather represent an intermediate step of great relevance to advance towards nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament under effective international control.
6. They reiterate their conviction that the establishment of militarily denuclearized zones is closely linked to the maintenance of peace and security in the respective regions and that the military denuclearization of vast geographical areas, adopted by sovereign decision taken exclusively by States located there, It has exerted beneficial influence in other regions.
7. Underline that Nuclear Weapon Free Zones promote regional and international peace and stability by prohibiting the possession, acquisition, development, testing, manufacturing, production, storage, deployment and use of nuclear weapons.
8. They highlight the importance of promoting cooperation with the Parties and Signatories of the Treaties that established Nuclear Weapon Free Zones in the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, Africa and Central Asia and also with Mongolia whose weapons-free status nuclear weapons is recognized by the United Nations.
9. Affirm their commitment to contribute to the success of the Fourth Conference of Nuclear Weapon Free Zones and Mongolia, in 2020, convened by Resolution 73/71 of the United Nations General Assembly, on December 5, 2018, and, In this sense, they urge all Parties and Signatories of the Treaties establishing Nuclear Weapon Free Zones to actively participate in the preparation of the Fourth Conference, supporting Mongolia, the State designated as coordinator of the Fourth Conference.
10. Affirm that unequivocal and legally binding guarantees to the States that make up Nuclear Weapon Free Zones against the use and threat of use of nuclear weapons are a fundamental element for the non-proliferation regime of nuclear weapons and constitute a legitimate interest of the international community. In this sense, they urge the States possessing nuclear weapons that issued interpretative declarations to Additional Protocols I and II to the Treaty of Tlatelolco contrary to the letter and spirit of the Treaty to examine them together with OPANAL, with the objective of reviewing or suppress them in order to provide full and unequivocal security guarantees to the States that make up the Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as to respect the militarily denuclearized nature of the region.
11. Recall their participation in the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which prohibits the possession, development, production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling, transfer, use or threat of use of weapons nuclear or other nuclear explosive devices.
12. They consider that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, as well as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), once in force, will be added to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) on the path towards the elimination of these weapons of mass destruction.
13. They point out that these four Treaties establish legal norms of International Law that bind the States that have signed and ratified them. These instruments are not simple declarations of intent nor can they produce the automatic disappearance of nuclear weapons; However, they constitute an adequate legal basis for the process of eliminating nuclear weapons and preventing their return.
14. Reiterate their commitment to participate constructively in the Third Preparatory Committee of the 2020 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which will meet from April 29 to May 10, 2019 In New York.
15. They highlight their concern about the international situation which, among other aspects, is characterized by the continuity of nuclear arsenal modernization programs, by the possible creation of new types of nuclear weapons vectors and by the growing threat of the use of nuclear weapons. in a scenario of tensions and armed conflicts and threats of terrorism. This happens in a context in which there are still states with nuclear weapons, many of them on alert.
16. They reiterate the commitment of the States of the region, endorsed in the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, to continue promoting nuclear disarmament as a priority objective and contribute to general and complete disarmament to promote the strengthening of trust between nations.
17. Demand that nuclear weapons not be used again by any actor, under any circumstances, which can only be ensured through the prohibition and subsequent transparent, verifiable and irreversible elimination of all nuclear weapons.