11 July, 2022. – The eighth edition of the Summer School on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation for diplomats from Latin America and the Caribbean has kicked off in Mexico City.
Photo: Secretariat of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (SRE)
It is the first time after the COVD-19 pandemic that the Summer School is being held in person. This eighth edition gathered 23 diplomats from 21 countries, with a high rate of women participation (61%).
This year’s Summer School has been inaugurated by Dr. Eduardo Jaramillo Navarrete, General Director for the United Nations, Secretariat of Foreign Affairs (SRE), Amb. Flávio Roberto Bonzanini, Secretary General of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), and Dr. William Potter, Founding Director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). Moreover, the following heads of international organizations sent their welcoming remarks: Amb. Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr. Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), and Mr. Thomas Markram, Director and Deputy to the High Representative, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).
The eighth edition of the Summer School will be taking place until Friday, July 15, 2022 and will cover the following topics: nuclear energy, fissile material, nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear weapons technology, regional and international security, control of nuclear materials, international safeguards, nuclear disarmament, nuclear-weapon-free zones, arms control, nuclear testing, gender, open-source approaches, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, prevention of nuclear terrorism, among others.
Participants will have an opportunity to learn from the leading experts from James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), National Institute for Nuclear Research (ININ), Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP), National Commission of Nuclear Safety and Safeguards (CNSNS), NPSGlobal Foundation, Matías Romero Institute (IMR), Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), and OPANAL Member States’ diplomatic corps.
The annual Summer School on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation for diplomats from Latin America and the Caribbean is a product of a close collaboration between the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), the Matías Romero Institute and the James Martin Center for Non-Proliferation Studies (CNS) – Middlebury Institute of International Studies, which at training diplomats from Latin America and the Caribbean on issues related to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.