From December 3 to 7, 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Plurinational State of Bolivia hosts the OPANAL Course on disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. In this second edition of the OPANAL Course, the Hon. Mr. Sergio De Queiroz Duarte, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. The Course is held in the Tiwanaku Hall of the Bolivian Foreign Ministry and is attended by officials from the Ministry of Defense, the National Police, the Ministry of Energy, the Academy of Sciences and the San Calixto Observatory, among other Bolivian institutions. 

The inauguration of the Course included the participation of the Hon. Mrs. Carmen Almendras, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia, and of the Hon. Mr. Luiz Filipe de Macedo Soares, Secretary General of OPANAL, who presented his conference entitled "Nuclear weapons and strategic balance." 

Vice Minister Almendras recalled that “Bolivia reiterates the expression of deep concern expressed by the countries of America and the Caribbean, in the face of the imminent danger represented by the existence of nuclear weapons, a danger that becomes increasingly serious, with each day more in force. ”. Likewise, Vice Minister Almendras stated:

We hold the conference "Nuclear Weapons and Strategic Balance" at a time when the world's existing arsenal reaches approximately 15 thousand nuclear warheads and at a time when the United Nations General Assembly declared September 26 as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. 

We reaffirm that respect, dialogue, and non-interference in internal affairs, as principles of international relations, can become the best combat against intimidation or the use of force that still threatens the harmony of the international concert. 

Education is an ideal mechanism to create global awareness and prevent the manufacture, production, acquisition, use or deployment of nuclear weapons. 

In his introductory message to the Course, the Secretary General of OPANAL reminded the participants of the functions of the Organism, of which all 33 States of Latin America and the Caribbean are Members:

1. Keep the Nuclear Weapons Free Zone of Latin America and the Caribbean, through the Control System of the Treaty of Tlatelolco.

2. Work, according to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, so that the elimination of nuclear weapons is achieved, and

3. In support of the two previous points, spread knowledge about the problem of nuclear weapons in the region.

The OPANAL Course, organized in La Paz, is part of the Organization's efforts to disseminate to the general public the terrible danger represented by the mere existence of nuclear weapons and that they are an obstacle to the democratization of international relations. As the Secretary General of the Agency mentioned, nuclear weapons are not only military instruments, but they have the basic function of power, "of intimidation." 

Finally, the Secretary General recalled that:

OPANAL is the only intergovernmental organization dedicated entirely to achieving nuclear disarmament and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Bolivia is a Party to the Treaty of Tlatelolco and a Member of OPANAL, and therefore has the commitment to contribute to the extent of its possibilities, to put an end to the arms race, especially the nuclear one, and to keep the national territory free of nuclear weapons.

In interview for the Bolivian Information Agency (ABI), the Secretary General mentioned that the Courses organized by OPANAL, in collaboration with its Member States, serve:

to raise awareness, to inform mainly and is intended for diplomats, soldiers, journalists and all people who have an activity that is related in some way to the issue of nuclear weapons. It is a novel activity and initiative because - obviously these types of meetings are held in other countries - there is a deficit of information.

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The first OPANAL Course on disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons was held in 2017 in Montevideo, Uruguay. It is contemplated that next year, another Member State of the Organization will host a new edition of the Course. The Course program, taught by Ambassador Sergio De Queiroz Duarte, is as follows: 

Day 1

Introduction

Origin of nuclear weapons

Cold War context

• Arms race
• Relations between the superpowers

Treaty of Tlatelolco

Immediate background

• “Missile Crisis” (October 1962, Cuba)
• Initiatives at the United Nations General Assembly – 1962
• Joint declaration on the denuclearization of Latin America (April 29, 1963 by the Heads of State of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Mexico)
• Decision to negotiate the Treaty: Preliminary Meeting on the Denuclearization of Latin America (REUPRAL), which took place from November 23 to 27, 1964
• Negotiation of the Treaty: Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America (COPREDAL), March 1965 to February 1967

Structure of the Treaty of Tlatelolco

• Preamble
• Purposes
• Control system
• Additional Protocols I and II to the Treaty
• Signatures and ratifications
• Interpretative Statements

Operation of the Treaty

• Organs of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL)

Recent performance of Member States

• Declarations from OPANAL and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)

Day 2

Nuclear disarmament at a global level

Nuclear disarmament

• Multilateral initiatives
• United Nations General Assembly
• 18-nation Disarmament Committee (ENDC) – Committee on Disarmament Conference (CCD)
• First Special Session of the General Assembly dedicated to Disarmament (I SSOD) – Final Document
• Commission/Conference on Disarmament (CD)
• United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC)
• Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)

Big issues on nuclear disarmament

• fissile material
• Negative security guarantees
• Outer space

Nuclear weapons and International Humanitarian Law

• International Humanitarian Law and Humanitarian Initiative
• Humanitarian Conferences: Oslo, Nayarit and Vienna
• Humanitarian Pledge
• Activities of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)
• Public opinion and nuclear disarmament
• Education for nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation

Day 3

Nuclear non-proliferation regime

The nuclear non-proliferation regime

1. Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT):

• Crafting
• Adoption
• Entry into force

2. Structure of the NPT
3. The Review Conferences of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons:

• NPT Review and Extension Conference (1995)
• VIII NPT Review Conference (2010)
• IX NPT Review Conference (2015)

4. NPT Review Conference Topics

• Implementation of the provisions of the NPT on nuclear disarmament (Article VI), as well as international peace and security
• NPT provisions on non-proliferation, safeguards and nuclear-weapon-free zones
• Inalienable right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes Peaceful uses

Day 4

Nuclear Weapon Free Zones

Concept of a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone

• Creation of nuclear weapon-free zones in accordance with arrangements freely concluded between States of the region concerned (1999)

Treaties establishing Nuclear Weapon Free Zones

• South Pacific (Treaty of Rarotonga, 1985)
• Southeast Asia (Bangkok Treaty, 1995)
• Africa (Treaty of Pelindaba, 1996)
• Central Asia (Central Asia Treaty, 2006)
• Mongolia's status as a nuclear-weapon-free state (1992)

Conferences of the Nuclear Weapon Free Zones and Mongolia

• I Conference of States Parties and Signatories to the Treaties Establishing Nuclear Weapon Free Zones, 2005, Mexico City
• II Conference of States Parties and Signatories to the Treaties Establishing Nuclear Weapon Free Zones, 2010, New York
• III Conference of States Parties and Signatories to the Treaties Establishing Nuclear Weapon Free Zones, 2015, New York.

Establishment of future Nuclear Weapons Free Zones

• Northeast Asia
• Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction (ME-WMDFZ)
• Other United Nations initiatives

Day 5

perspectives

Current situation of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation policy and perspectives

Participant evaluation

• Recommended bibliography.

With information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Plurinational State of Bolivia and ABI.