Who we are

In an effort to ensure that the obligations of the Treaty of Tlatelolco are met, in 1969, the Contracting Parties established the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL).

The Agency is mandated to host both regular and extraordinary meetings with the participation of its Member States, in keeping with the goals, measures, and procedures embodied in the Treaty.

As part of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the OPANAL has been outfitted with several subordinate bodies, inclding the General Conference, the Council and the Secretariat, with the Secretary General being the organization's most senior member of staff.

The OPANAL may also establish those subsidiary bodies which the General Conference deems necessary, such as the Committee on Contributions and Administrative and Budgetary Matters (CCAAP).

Article 7 of the Treaty of Tlatelolco establishes Mexico City as the official Headquarters of the Agency.

The OPANAL is the world's only regional institution fully dedicated to nuclear weapons disarmament and non-proliferation.

Agency for the prohibition of nuclear weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (opanal)

For a world free of nuclear weapons

Member States

OPANAL is an intergovernmental organization. Its Members are the 33 States of Latin America and the Caribbean. These States signed and ratified the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, known as the Treaty of Tlatelolco.

Nuclear Weapons Free Zones

A Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (NWFZ) is a delimited geographical space where these weapons of mass destruction are legally prohibited. NWFZ is a regional non-proliferation mechanism with a view to achieving nuclear disarmament at a global level.

Who we are

Agency for the prohibition of nuclear weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (opanal)

For a world free of nuclear weapons

Member States

Nuclear Weapons Free Zones

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