Guatemala hosts the fifth edition of the OPANAL Course on Disarmament and Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

From November 8 to 10, 2022, the OPANAL Course on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guatemala.

The fifth edition of the Course, hosted by the Government of Guatemala through the “Doctor Jorge García Granados” Academy of Diplomacy, had the participation of 20 officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Rafael Landívar University and the Institute National Institute of Strategic Security Studies.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Roberto Palma Urzúa, and Director of the Academy of Diplomacy, Ambassador Herbert Meneses. In his opening words, the Vice Minister highlighted the importance of educational activities on nuclear disarmament, considering the collateral damage to humanity and the environment produced by these weapons of mass destruction.

The Secretary General of OPANAL, Ambassador Flávio Roberto Bonzanini, in his welcome video message, recalled that “The geopolitical situation that we currently live in, and in which threats from the use of nuclear weapons once again arise, puts international peace and security at risk and, as a consequence, the existence of all humanity. “This is why it is important to remember the terrible danger posed by the mere existence of nuclear weapons and join our efforts to advance our common goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.”.

During the three days of the Course taught by the OPANAL Secretariat, participants had the opportunity to learn about the origin of nuclear weapons, the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the nuclear non-proliferation regime, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, history of testing. nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons-free zones, multilateral efforts to ban nuclear weapons, gender and intersectionality in nuclear weapons.

El OPANAL Course on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is an initiative of the Agency in the field of education that emerged in 2014 with the objective of preparing cadres in Latin America and the Caribbean on disarmament issues, and in line with Resolution 73/59 of the United Nations General Assembly entitled “United Nations study on disarmament and non-proliferation education.”

From 2017 to 2019, four editions of the Course on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: in Uruguay, Bolivia, Guatemala and Nicaragua. The fifth edition is the first time after the COVID-19 pandemic that the Course is held.

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