On February 14, the 58th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) was marked. To commemorate this occasion, the OPANAL Secretariat held a virtual ceremony.
At the opening of the ceremony, Ambassador Flávio Roberto Bonzanini, Secretary General of OPANAL, delivered a speech in which he highlighted the historic achievement of Latin American and Caribbean diplomacy in the negotiation and adoption of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, 58 years ago, in a complicated and turbulent international context. He also reaffirmed the commitment to maintain the region's nuclear-weapon-free status and contribute to global nuclear disarmament.
As part of the event, Dr. Eduardo Jaramillo Navarrete, Director General for the United Nations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, current President of the OPANAL Council, presented the Communiqué of the OPANAL Member States issued on the occasion of the 58th Anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatelolco. The communiqué reaffirmed the importance of the Treaty, highlighting, among other aspects, “…that Nuclear Weapon Free Zones promote peace and stability at the regional and international level by prohibiting the possession, acquisition, development, testing, manufacturing, production, storage, deployment and use of nuclear weapons; and reaffirm the priority of verifiable, irreversible, transparent and complete nuclear disarmament; and reiterate that the only guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is their total elimination.” The full Communiqué can be read here.
The commemoration also hosted the award ceremony for the Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade Prize for Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. The Argentine Ambassador, María Gabriela Quinteros, was in charge of presenting the award to the winners, Luis Rodríguez and Elizabeth Maidenhall, of this first edition established by the OPANAL Membership to recognize the importance of promoting academic contributions to the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation by Latin American and Caribbean authors and to pay tribute to Cançado Trindade (photo of him), a distinguished jurist who served as a judge at the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and consistently advocated for the right of all people to live in a world free of nuclear weapons.
The award winners shared the following messages:
“We are truly honored to receive this prestigious award… Our research combines Luis’ expertise in international law and multilateralism with Beth’s focus on maritime issues and illicit technological developments. In particular, we examine why the Latin American Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (NWFZ) does not prohibit maritime transit of nuclear weapons. Our findings reveal that Latin American countries responded far more strategically than previously assumed… Our current research explores the legal space within the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for coastal States to require prior notification or authorization for the passage of nuclear-armed warships and vessels. We hope that this study will contribute to the expansion of nuclear-weapon-free zones and to strengthening the role of non-nuclear-weapon States in disarmament efforts… Finally, we are deeply honored to receive this recognition from OPANAL. Thank you very much.”
58th Anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatelolco
🗓️ February 14, 2025
🕜 10:00 am (GMT-6)
🔗 live streaming
https://www.youtube.com/live/3L7I5FbaVSs?si=YfUxQiLxi-4k2bc7
🗣️ social media
https://linktr.ee/opanal?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=d2718adf-83b2-4737-a7d9-a5925edf39cd
Communiqué from the Member States of the
Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean
(OPANAL) on the 58th Anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatelolco