From December 5 to 7, 2023, the OPANAL Course on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was held at the Diplomatic Academy of Ecuador “Galo Plaza Lasso”. The opening ceremony was attended by the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Carlos Larrea, and the Director of the Diplomatic Academy, Ambassador Alejandro Suárez.
The course was attended by 26 officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility – Diplomatic Academy, Undersecretary of Multilateral Affairs; Ministry of Energy and Mines; Ministry of Defence; as well as higher education institutions such as the National Polytechnic School, San Francisco de Quito University, International University of Ecuador, University of the Armed Forces, Joint Military Defense Academy; and representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Ecuador – Embassy of Peru, Embassy of Chile and Embassy of the Republic of Korea.
For his part, the Secretary General of OPANAL, Ambassador Flávio Roberto Bonzanini, through a video message, thanked the Government of Ecuador for the interest and support in hosting this course. He recalled the pacifist tradition of Ecuador, as well as the historical vocation in favor of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation that he reaffirms through his active and purposeful participation in OPANAL.
During the three days of the Course taught by the OPANAL Secretariat, the participants became familiar with the international regime on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament; the main international instruments that comprise it - such as the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In particular, the participants were able to learn more about the role of Ecuador and its historical participation in the process that gave rise to the Treaty of Tlatelolco and the OPANAL, as well as about the two general secretaries, of Ecuadorian origin, who were at the head of the OPANAL Secretariat: i) Ambassador Leopoldo Benítez Vinueza (1971) and ii) Ambassador José Ricardo Martínez Cobo (1981-1985).
Likewise, with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross, a presentation was given on International Humanitarian Law and the Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons. On the last day of the course, the official ceremony took place to present certificates to all the participants who completed the training.
The OPANAL Course on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is one of the Agency's activities in the field of Disarmament Education and aims to prepare cadres in Latin America and the Caribbean on disarmament issues, in accordance with resolution CG/Res.07/2023 adopted by the XXVIII Session of the General Conference of OPANAL and in line with the Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly entitled “United Nations Study on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education.”
