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{{Short description|1967 nuclear weapons treaty}}
{{Infobox Treaty
{{Infobox Treaty
| name = Treaty of Tlatelolco
| name = Treaty of Tlatelolco
| long_name = Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean
| long_name = Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean
| image = 479px-Atomic blast.jpg
| image = Latin American and Caribbean Group Member States.svg
| image_width = 200px
| image_width =
| caption = 14 [[kiloton]] atomic explosion, [[Nevada Test Site]], [[United States|USA]].
| caption = Zone of Application as delineated in Article 4 of the Treaty of Tlatelolco
| type =
| type =
| date_drafted =
| date_drafted =
| date_signed = [[14 February]], [[1967]]
| date_signed = 14 February 1967
| location_signed = [[Mexico City]]
| location_signed = [[Mexico City]]
| date_sealed =
| date_sealed =
| date_effective = [[25 April]], [[1969]]
| date_effective = 22 April 1968
| condition_effective = Deposit of ratifications (Art. 29)
| condition_effective = Deposit of ratifications (Art. 29) / waiver according to Article 29
| date_expiration =
| date_expiration =
| signatories =
| signatories =
Line 21: Line 22:
| wikisource =
| wikisource =
}}
}}
The '''Treaty of Tlatelolco''' is the conventional name given to the '''Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean'''. It is embodied in '''the [[OPANAL]]''' (el Organismo para la Proscripción de las Armas Nucleares en la América Latina y el Caribe, which is [[Spanish language|Spanish]] for the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean).
Meeting in the [[Tlatelolco]] district of [[Mexico City]] on [[14 February]] [[1967]], the nations of [[Latin America]] and the [[Caribbean]] drafted this treaty to keep their region of the world free of [[nuclear weapon]]s.
Whereas [[Antarctica]] had earlier been declared a [[Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone|nuclear-weapon-free zone]] under the [[1961]] [[Antarctic Treaty System|Antarctic Treaty]], this was the first time such a ban was put in place over such a vast, populated area.


'''The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean''' (commonly known as '''The Tlatelolco Treaty''') is an [[international treaty]] that establishes the [[Nuclear disarmament|denuclearization]] of [[Latin America and the Caribbean]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Redick |first=John R. |date=1981 |title=The Tlatelolco regime and nonproliferation in Latin America |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-organization/article/abs/tlatelolco-regime-and-nonproliferation-in-latin-america/CBFFBF83EE2B39602498A171795B7491 |journal=International Organization |language=en |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=103–134 |doi=10.1017/S0020818300004100 |issn=1531-5088}}</ref> It was proposed by [[Adolfo López Mateos]], the [[President of Mexico]], and promoted by the Mexican diplomats [[Alfonso García Robles]], [[Ismael Moreno Pino]] and [[Jorge Castañeda y Álvarez de la Rosa|Jorge Castañeda]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=autores |first=Varios |title=El Tratado de Tlatelolco: una mirada desde sus protagonistas |url=https://www.milenio.com/opinion/varios-autores/valija-diplomatica/el-tratado-de-tlatelolco-una-mirada-desde-sus-protagonistas |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=Grupo Milenio |date=18 February 2022 |language=es-MX}}</ref> as a response to the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] (1962). For his efforts in favor of the reduction of nuclear weapons, García Robles was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1982.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1982 |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1982/robles/facts/ |access-date=2023-02-24 |website=NobelPrize.org |language=en-US}}</ref>
The treaty came into force on [[25 April]] [[1969]], and has since been signed and ratified by all 33 nations of Latin America and the Caribbean. ([[Cuba]] was the last country to ratify, on [[23 October]] [[2002]].)
Under the treaty, the states' parties agree to prohibit and prevent the "testing, use, manufacture, production or acquisition by any means whatsoever of any nuclear weapons" and the "receipt, storage, installation, deployment and any form of possession of any nuclear weapons."


The preparation of the text was entrusted to the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America (COPREDAL), which established its headquarters in [[Mexico City]] and held four plenary sessions. The Treaty was signed by the signatory countries on February 12, 1967 and entered into force on April 25, 1969.
There are two additional protocols to the treaty:
Protocol I binds those overseas countries with territories in the region (the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], and the [[Netherlands]]) to the terms of the treaty.
Protocol II requires the world's declared nuclear weapons states to refrain from undermining in any way the nuclear-free status of the region; it has been signed and ratified by the USA, the UK, France, [[China]], and [[Russia]].


The treaty also provides for a comprehensive control and verification mechanism, overseen by the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), based in Mexico City.
The organization in charge of monitoring compliance with said treaty is [[OPANAL]] (Organization for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean). Signed in 1967, it was the first treaty of its kind covering a populated area of the world, establishing a [[Nuclear-weapon-free zone]] stretching from the [[Rio Grande]] to [[Tierra del Fuego]].


==Provisions==
[[Alfonso García Robles]] and [[Alva Myrdal]] received the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1982 for their efforts in promoting the treaty.
<!-- .mf, .bl, .mq, .gp, .gf, .pr, .vi, .ai, .fk, .gs, .ky, .ms, .tc, .vg, -->


Under the treaty, the states parties agree to prohibit and prevent the "testing, use, manufacture, production or acquisition by any means whatsoever of any nuclear weapons" and the "receipt, storage, installation, deployment and any form of possession of any nuclear weapons."
==See also==

*[[Antarctic Treaty System|Antarctic Treaty]] (1959): Antarctic nuclear-free zone
The treaty requires its parties to conclude comprehensive safeguards agreements with the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] and has a mechanism for states to request special inspections in case of suspected violations. It formally entered into force when all states in zone brought those agreements into force. It also has a provision allowing states to waive that entry into force requirement and bring the treaty into force on a national basis.<ref>[https://treaties.unoda.org/t/tlatelolco Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean], UN Office for Disarmament Affairs.</ref>
*[[Treaty of Rarotonga]] (1985): South Pacific nuclear-free zone

*[[Treaty of Bangkok]] (1995): Southeast Asia nuclear-free zone
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right;"
*[[Treaty of Pelindaba]] (1996): African nuclear-free zone
|+ Overseas states' territories in Latin American and Caribbean NWFZ
*[[Treaty of Semipalatinsk]] (2006): Central Asian nuclear-free zone
!Netherlands!!U.K.!!France!!U.S.
|-
|[[Bonaire]]<br />[[Curaçao]]<br />[[Sint Maarten]]<br />[[Aruba]]<br />[[Sint Eustatius]]<br />[[Saba (island)|Saba]]
|| [[Anguilla]]<br />[[British Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands]]<br />[[Caymans]]
[[Montserrat]]<br />[[Turks and Caicos|Turks & Caicos]]<br />[[Falklands]]<br />[[South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands|South Georgia]]
|[[French Guiana]]<br />[[Guadeloupe]]<br />[[Martinique]]<br />[[Saint Barthélemy|St.Barthélemy]]<br />[[Saint Martin (island)|St.Martin]]<br />[[Clipperton Island]]||[[Puerto Rico]]<br />[[U.S. Virgin Islands|Virgin Islands]]<br />[[USMOI]]
|}

===Protocols===
There are two additional protocols to the treaty:
* Protocol I binds those overseas countries with territories in the region (the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], and the [[Netherlands]]) to the terms of the treaty.
* Protocol II requires the world's declared [[nuclear weapons states]] to refrain from undermining in any way the nuclear-free status of the region; it has been signed and ratified by the US, the UK, France, [[China]], and [[Russia]].

==History==
Meeting in the [[Tlatelolco (Mexico City)|Tlatelolco]] district of [[Mexico City]] on 14 February 1967, the nations of [[Latin America]] and the [[Caribbean]] drafted this treaty to keep their region of the world free of [[nuclear weapon]]s.
Whereas [[Antarctica]] had earlier been declared a [[Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone|nuclear-weapon-free zone]] under the 1961 [[Antarctic Treaty System|Antarctic Treaty]], this was the first time such a ban was put in place over a large, populated area.[[Image:nwfz.svg|thumb|400px|
{{legend0|#0000FF|[[Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone]]s}}
{{legend0|#FF0000|[[Nuclear weapons states|NW states]]}}
{{legend0|#FF8800|[[Nuclear sharing]]}}
{{legend0|#dddd00|[[Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty|NPT]] only}}<br />
]]

COPREDAL was the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America created after the Cuban Missile Crisis.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://disarmament-library.un.org/UNODA/Library.nsf/a61ff5819c4381ee85256bc70068fa14/e043eebb7df010428525796e0059df78/$FILE/ENDC186_Final%20Act%20of%20the%204th%20Session_PrepCom-Dencl%20of%20LatinAmer.pdf|title=Final Act of the Fourth Session of the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America|date=27 February 1967|website=UNODA|access-date=21 April 2017|archive-date=12 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912072222/https://disarmament-library.un.org/UNODA/Library.nsf/a61ff5819c4381ee85256bc70068fa14/e043eebb7df010428525796e0059df78/$FILE/ENDC186_Final%20Act%20of%20the%204th%20Session_PrepCom-Dencl%20of%20LatinAmer.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> It consisted of four sets of sessions, all of them which held in Mexico City. The purpose of the sessions was to prepare a possible draft of the Treaty of Tlatelolco.<ref name="NOBEL82">{{cite news|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1982/robles-lecture.html|title=Alfonso García Robles - Nobel Lecture: The Latin American Nuclear-Weapon Free Zone|date=11 December 1982|work=www.nobelprize.org|agency=[[Nobel Prize]]|access-date=25 March 2017}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Seguridad mundial: un programa para el desarme; informe de la Comisión Independiente sobre Asuntos de Desarme y Seguridad, bajo la presidencia de Olof Palme|last=Palme|first=Olof|publisher=Lasser Press|year=1982|location=Mexico}}</ref>

The United Nations Assembly authorized COPREDAL on 27 November 1963. The Preliminary Meeting on the Denuclearization of Latin America (REUPRAL) created the "Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America", COPREDAL.<ref name="NOBEL82" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.opanal.org/copredal/|title=COPREDAL-OPANAL|website=OPANAL}}</ref>

There were four sets of COPREDAL's sessions. The first set of sessions took place from 15 to 22 March 1965, the second set of sessions from 23 August to 2 September 1965 and the third set of sessions from 19 April to 4 May 1965. The fourth set of sessions, also known as the Final Act, was divided into two parts. Part I started on 30 August 19 and Part II followed on 31 January to 14 February 1967.<ref name=":0" />

In the first two sets of sessions, participants simply reported the activities that needed to be done in the following sets of sessions.<ref name=":0" /> The agreements made in the third set of sessions consisted of presenting a report of the previous changes to de Co-ordinating Committee and preparing the draft for the following Treaty of the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America.<ref name=":0" /> At the end of the fourth session, the objective was to entry the treaty into force.<ref name="NOBEL82" />

Preparatory Commission created two working groups. Working group 1 was in charge of investigating control systems and predominant technical problems. Working group 2 dealt with legal and political questions.<ref name=":0" /> A Drafting Group was also created in order to prepare the final texts.<ref name=":0" />

== List of parties ==

The following table lists the parties to the Treaty of Tlatelolco. All are also parties to the [[Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons|Non-Proliferation Treaty]]. The table also indicates which ones had become parties to the [[Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]] (TPNW) by 26 November 2023.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
|+ {{nowrap|Sortable and collapsible table }}
|-
! scope="col" | Country
! scope="col" | Also party to the TPNW
|-
| {{Flag|Antigua and Barbuda}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Argentina}} || n
|-
| {{Flag|Bahamas}} || n (only signed)
|-
| {{Flag|Barbados}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.opanal.org/en/barbados/|title=Barbados – OPANAL}}</ref> || n (only signed)
|-
| {{Flag|Belize}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Bolivia}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Brazil}} || n (only signed)
|-
| {{Flag|Chile}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Colombia}} || n (only signed)
|-
| {{Flag|Costa Rica}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Cuba}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.opanal.org/en/cuba/|title=Cuba – OPANAL}}</ref> || y
|-
| {{Flag|Dominica}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Dominican Republic}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Ecuador}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|El Salvador}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Grenada}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Guatemala}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Guyana}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Haiti}} || n (only signed)
|-
| {{Flag|Honduras}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Jamaica}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Mexico}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Nicaragua}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Panama}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Paraguay}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Peru}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Saint Kitts and Nevis}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Saint Lucia}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Suriname}} || n
|-
| {{Flag|Trinidad and Tobago}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Uruguay}} || y
|-
| {{Flag|Venezuela}} || y
|}

==Observers==
Some other countries participated as observers, in every set of sessions such as Austria, Canada, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, India, Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States of America.<ref name=":0" /> International organizations were present as well, for example the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).<ref name=":0" />

The Latin American countries other than [[Cuba]] all signed the treaty in 1967, along with [[Jamaica]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]], and all of these ratified the treaty by 1972. The treaty came into force on 22 April 1968, after [[El Salvador]] had joined [[Mexico]] in ratifying it and waived the conditions for its entry into force in accordance with its Article 28.

[[Argentina]] ratified in 1994, more than 26 years after signature, and was thus unprotected by the zone during the [[Falklands War]].

Other English-speaking Caribbean nations signed either soon after independence from the U.K. (1968, 1975, 1983) or years later (1989, 1992, 1994, 1995), all ratifying within 4 years after signing. However, as British territories they had been covered since 1969 when the U.K. ratified Protocol I.

The [[Netherlands]] ratified Protocol I in 1971; [[Suriname]] signed the Treaty in 1976 soon after independence from the Netherlands but did not ratify until 1997, 21 years after signing.
The U.S. signed Protocol I applying to [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[Virgin Islands]] in 1977 and ratified in 1981.
France signed Protocol I applying to its Caribbean islands and [[French Guiana]] in 1979 but only ratified in 1992.
All five NPT-recognized [[List of states with nuclear weapons|nuclear weapon states]] ratified Protocol II by 1979.

[[Cuba]] was the last country to sign and to ratify, in 1995 and on 23 October 2002, completing signature and ratification by all 33 nations of Latin America and the Caribbean. Cuba ratified with a reservation that achieving a solution to the United States hostility to Cuba and the use of the [[Guantánamo Bay]] military base for U.S. nuclear weapons was a precondition to Cuba's continued adherence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unhq-appspub-01.un.org/UNODA/Treatystatus.nsf/82debb5ddd99db958525688f006b9c26/7093693e091f11018525688f006d233a?OpenDocument=|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707164420/http://unhq-appspub-01.un.org/UNODA/Treatystatus.nsf/82debb5ddd99db958525688f006b9c26/7093693e091f11018525688f006d233a?OpenDocument=|url-status=dead|title=Treaty of Tlatelolco (Cuba)|date=7 July 2012|archive-date=7 July 2012|website=archive.is}}</ref>

The Mexican diplomat [[Alfonso García Robles]] received the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1982 for his efforts in promoting the treaty.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1982/robles-facts.html|title=Alfonso García Robles - Facts|website=Nobelprize.org|access-date=19 October 2016}}</ref>

== Diplomatic consequences ==
The basic agreement for Latin America is the possession of nuclear weapons directly or indirectly is prohibited.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> With the intention of The Kingdom of the Netherlands desire to participate, COPREDAL's members decided not to include countries outside the region, including those which had territories in the region.<ref name=":0" />

The regional territories belonging to countries outside the region would decide either to permit or deny the passage of nuclear weapons;<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://unoda-web.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/assets/publications/documents_on_disarmament/1965/DoD_1965.pdf|title=Documents on Disarmament 1965|date=1966}}</ref> countries such as United States and France recognized those transit agreements.<ref name=":1" /> The Soviet Union refused to recognize such transit agreements.<ref name=":1" />

== See also ==

* [[Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]]
* [[British nuclear weapons and the Falklands War]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.opanal.org/texto-del-tratado-de-tlatelolco/ Treaty text]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150924060736/http://www.opanal.org/english/ OPANAL website]
* [http://www.opanal.org/zona-de-aplicacion/ Zone of Application map including oceans]
* [http://www.opanal.org/en/member-states/ Status of Signatures and Ratifications]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=PSsxmXWChqIC&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&dq=falkland+tlatelolco The Official History of the Falklands Campaign: War and diplomacy] By Lawrence Freedman


[[Category:Nuclear weapons policy]]
{{Nuclear weapons limitation treaty}}
[[Category:Arms control]]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Treaties|Tlatelolco]]


[[Category:Politics of the Caribbean]]
[[de:Vertrag von Tlatelolco]]
[[Category:Nuclear weapons policy]]
[[es:Tratado de Tlatelolco]]
[[Category:Cold War treaties]]
[[fr:Traité de Tlatelolco]]
[[Category:Treaties concluded in 1967]]
[[nl:Verdrag van Tlatelolco]]
[[Category:Treaties entered into force in 1969]]
[[ja:トラテロルコ条約]]
[[Category:Treaties of Argentina]]
[[no:Tlatelolco-traktaten]]
[[Category:Treaties of Barbados]]
[[Category:Treaties of Belize]]
[[Category:Treaties of Bolivia]]
[[Category:Treaties of the military dictatorship in Brazil]]
[[Category:Treaties of Chile]]
[[Category:Treaties of Colombia]]
[[Category:Treaties of Costa Rica]]
[[Category:Treaties of Cuba]]
[[Category:Treaties of Dominica]]
[[Category:Treaties of Ecuador]]
[[Category:Treaties of El Salvador]]
[[Category:Treaties of Grenada]]
[[Category:Treaties of Guatemala]]
[[Category:Treaties of Guyana]]
[[Category:Treaties of Haiti]]
[[Category:Treaties of Honduras]]
[[Category:Treaties of Jamaica]]
[[Category:Treaties of Mexico]]
[[Category:Treaties of Nicaragua]]
[[Category:Treaties of Panama]]
[[Category:Treaties of Paraguay]]
[[Category:Treaties of Peru]]
[[Category:Treaties of Saint Kitts and Nevis]]
[[Category:Treaties of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]]
[[Category:Treaties of Saint Lucia]]
[[Category:Treaties of Suriname]]
[[Category:Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago]]
[[Category:Treaties of Uruguay]]
[[Category:Treaties of Venezuela]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Bahamas]]
[[Category:Treaties of Antigua and Barbuda]]
[[Category:Treaties establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to the Netherlands Antilles]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to Aruba]]
[[Category:Treaties of the United States]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to Puerto Rico]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to the United States Virgin Islands]]
[[Category:Treaties of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to Anguilla]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to Montserrat]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to the British Virgin Islands]]
[[Category:Treaties of France]]
[[Category:Treaties of the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to the Cayman Islands]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to the Falkland Islands]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands]]
[[Category:Treaties extended to the Turks and Caicos Islands]]

Latest revision as of 02:12, 14 November 2024

Treaty of Tlatelolco
Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean
Zone of Application as delineated in Article 4 of the Treaty of Tlatelolco
Signed14 February 1967
LocationMexico City
Effective22 April 1968
ConditionDeposit of ratifications (Art. 29) / waiver according to Article 29
Parties33

The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (commonly known as The Tlatelolco Treaty) is an international treaty that establishes the denuclearization of Latin America and the Caribbean.[1] It was proposed by Adolfo López Mateos, the President of Mexico, and promoted by the Mexican diplomats Alfonso García Robles, Ismael Moreno Pino and Jorge Castañeda[2] as a response to the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962). For his efforts in favor of the reduction of nuclear weapons, García Robles was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982.[3]

The preparation of the text was entrusted to the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America (COPREDAL), which established its headquarters in Mexico City and held four plenary sessions. The Treaty was signed by the signatory countries on February 12, 1967 and entered into force on April 25, 1969.

The organization in charge of monitoring compliance with said treaty is OPANAL (Organization for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean). Signed in 1967, it was the first treaty of its kind covering a populated area of the world, establishing a Nuclear-weapon-free zone stretching from the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego.

Provisions

[edit]

Under the treaty, the states parties agree to prohibit and prevent the "testing, use, manufacture, production or acquisition by any means whatsoever of any nuclear weapons" and the "receipt, storage, installation, deployment and any form of possession of any nuclear weapons."

The treaty requires its parties to conclude comprehensive safeguards agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency and has a mechanism for states to request special inspections in case of suspected violations. It formally entered into force when all states in zone brought those agreements into force. It also has a provision allowing states to waive that entry into force requirement and bring the treaty into force on a national basis.[4]

Overseas states' territories in Latin American and Caribbean NWFZ
Netherlands U.K. France U.S.
Bonaire
Curaçao
Sint Maarten
Aruba
Sint Eustatius
Saba
Anguilla
Virgin Islands
Caymans

Montserrat
Turks & Caicos
Falklands
South Georgia

French Guiana
Guadeloupe
Martinique
St.Barthélemy
St.Martin
Clipperton Island
Puerto Rico
Virgin Islands
USMOI

Protocols

[edit]

There are two additional protocols to the treaty:

  • Protocol I binds those overseas countries with territories in the region (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands) to the terms of the treaty.
  • Protocol II requires the world's declared nuclear weapons states to refrain from undermining in any way the nuclear-free status of the region; it has been signed and ratified by the US, the UK, France, China, and Russia.

History

[edit]

Meeting in the Tlatelolco district of Mexico City on 14 February 1967, the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean drafted this treaty to keep their region of the world free of nuclear weapons.

Whereas Antarctica had earlier been declared a nuclear-weapon-free zone under the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, this was the first time such a ban was put in place over a large, populated area.

     Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones      NW states      Nuclear sharing      NPT only

COPREDAL was the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America created after the Cuban Missile Crisis.[5] It consisted of four sets of sessions, all of them which held in Mexico City. The purpose of the sessions was to prepare a possible draft of the Treaty of Tlatelolco.[6][7]

The United Nations Assembly authorized COPREDAL on 27 November 1963. The Preliminary Meeting on the Denuclearization of Latin America (REUPRAL) created the "Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America", COPREDAL.[6][8]

There were four sets of COPREDAL's sessions. The first set of sessions took place from 15 to 22 March 1965, the second set of sessions from 23 August to 2 September 1965 and the third set of sessions from 19 April to 4 May 1965. The fourth set of sessions, also known as the Final Act, was divided into two parts. Part I started on 30 August 19 and Part II followed on 31 January to 14 February 1967.[5]

In the first two sets of sessions, participants simply reported the activities that needed to be done in the following sets of sessions.[5] The agreements made in the third set of sessions consisted of presenting a report of the previous changes to de Co-ordinating Committee and preparing the draft for the following Treaty of the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America.[5] At the end of the fourth session, the objective was to entry the treaty into force.[6]

Preparatory Commission created two working groups. Working group 1 was in charge of investigating control systems and predominant technical problems. Working group 2 dealt with legal and political questions.[5] A Drafting Group was also created in order to prepare the final texts.[5]

List of parties

[edit]

The following table lists the parties to the Treaty of Tlatelolco. All are also parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The table also indicates which ones had become parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) by 26 November 2023.

Sortable and collapsible table
Country Also party to the TPNW
 Antigua and Barbuda y
 Argentina n
 Bahamas n (only signed)
 Barbados[9] n (only signed)
 Belize y
 Bolivia y
 Brazil n (only signed)
 Chile y
 Colombia n (only signed)
 Costa Rica y
 Cuba[10] y
 Dominica y
 Dominican Republic y
 Ecuador y
 El Salvador y
 Grenada y
 Guatemala y
 Guyana y
 Haiti n (only signed)
 Honduras y
 Jamaica y
 Mexico y
 Nicaragua y
 Panama y
 Paraguay y
 Peru y
 Saint Kitts and Nevis y
 Saint Lucia y
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines y
 Suriname n
 Trinidad and Tobago y
 Uruguay y
 Venezuela y

Observers

[edit]

Some other countries participated as observers, in every set of sessions such as Austria, Canada, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, France, India, Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States of America.[5] International organizations were present as well, for example the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).[5]

The Latin American countries other than Cuba all signed the treaty in 1967, along with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and all of these ratified the treaty by 1972. The treaty came into force on 22 April 1968, after El Salvador had joined Mexico in ratifying it and waived the conditions for its entry into force in accordance with its Article 28.

Argentina ratified in 1994, more than 26 years after signature, and was thus unprotected by the zone during the Falklands War.

Other English-speaking Caribbean nations signed either soon after independence from the U.K. (1968, 1975, 1983) or years later (1989, 1992, 1994, 1995), all ratifying within 4 years after signing. However, as British territories they had been covered since 1969 when the U.K. ratified Protocol I.

The Netherlands ratified Protocol I in 1971; Suriname signed the Treaty in 1976 soon after independence from the Netherlands but did not ratify until 1997, 21 years after signing. The U.S. signed Protocol I applying to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in 1977 and ratified in 1981. France signed Protocol I applying to its Caribbean islands and French Guiana in 1979 but only ratified in 1992. All five NPT-recognized nuclear weapon states ratified Protocol II by 1979.

Cuba was the last country to sign and to ratify, in 1995 and on 23 October 2002, completing signature and ratification by all 33 nations of Latin America and the Caribbean. Cuba ratified with a reservation that achieving a solution to the United States hostility to Cuba and the use of the Guantánamo Bay military base for U.S. nuclear weapons was a precondition to Cuba's continued adherence.[11]

The Mexican diplomat Alfonso García Robles received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982 for his efforts in promoting the treaty.[12]

Diplomatic consequences

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The basic agreement for Latin America is the possession of nuclear weapons directly or indirectly is prohibited.[5][7] With the intention of The Kingdom of the Netherlands desire to participate, COPREDAL's members decided not to include countries outside the region, including those which had territories in the region.[5]

The regional territories belonging to countries outside the region would decide either to permit or deny the passage of nuclear weapons;[13] countries such as United States and France recognized those transit agreements.[13] The Soviet Union refused to recognize such transit agreements.[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Redick, John R. (1981). "The Tlatelolco regime and nonproliferation in Latin America". International Organization. 35 (1): 103–134. doi:10.1017/S0020818300004100. ISSN 1531-5088.
  2. ^ autores, Varios (18 February 2022). "El Tratado de Tlatelolco: una mirada desde sus protagonistas". Grupo Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  3. ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 1982". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  4. ^ Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Final Act of the Fourth Session of the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America" (PDF). UNODA. 27 February 1967. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  6. ^ a b c "Alfonso García Robles - Nobel Lecture: The Latin American Nuclear-Weapon Free Zone". www.nobelprize.org. Nobel Prize. 11 December 1982. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  7. ^ a b Palme, Olof (1982). Seguridad mundial: un programa para el desarme; informe de la Comisión Independiente sobre Asuntos de Desarme y Seguridad, bajo la presidencia de Olof Palme. Mexico: Lasser Press.
  8. ^ "COPREDAL-OPANAL". OPANAL.
  9. ^ "Barbados – OPANAL".
  10. ^ "Cuba – OPANAL".
  11. ^ "Treaty of Tlatelolco (Cuba)". archive.is. 7 July 2012. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012.
  12. ^ "Alfonso García Robles - Facts". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  13. ^ a b c "Documents on Disarmament 1965" (PDF). 1966.
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