Belize
Belize co-sponsored the 2024 UN General Assembly resolution on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which welcomed the Treaty’s entry into force and called upon ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify, accept, approve, or accede to the Treaty at the earliest possible date’.1 It voted in favour of, but did not co-sponsor, the same resolution in 2025.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2020) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1985) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2004) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1994, Tlatelolco) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1997) | |
| AP with the IAEA | No | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1986) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Acceded 2003) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| Test | Compliant | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compliant |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compliant |
| (d) | Use | Compliant |
| Threaten to use | Compliant | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compliant |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compliant |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compliant |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2025) |
| Participated in 3MSP (2025) | No |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Did not vote |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | Yes (Revised) |
Latest developments
In the general debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2025, the Prime Minister of Belize, John Briceño, said: ‘Latin America and the Caribbean are committed to maintaining our region as a zone of peace, an area free of nuclear weapons, an area where conflicts are prevented through dialogue.’2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Belize delivered a statement on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) reaffirming the region’s support for the TPNW and emphasizing that the First Review Conference in 2026 offers a ‘crucial opportunity to strengthen norms against these weapons and to accelerate the momentum toward their elimination’.3
In a separate statement to the Committee on behalf of CARICOM, Belize hailed the TPNW as ‘a landmark achievement that reinforces and complements the international legal framework for nuclear disarmament’ and ‘embodies the collective moral, legal, and humanitarian imperative to eliminate these weapons once and for all’. It urged all States that have not yet joined the Treaty to do so ‘without delay’.4
Recommendations
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Belize should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Belize should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
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Belize should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).