Bolivia
Bolivia is an example to be followed by other states, as it has adhered to all of the seven key treaties in the legal architecture on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in addition to being party to a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) treaty.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2019) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1999) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1969, Tlatelolco) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1995) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2023) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1998) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 1.5 (25%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No (Rescinded 2024) |
Latest developments
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Bolivia noted that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) ‘complements and reinforces the [Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)], as it allows progress towards the full and effective implementation of Article VI [of the NPT]’. Moreover, the TPNW incorporates ‘a humanitarian approach, a gender perspective and environmental restoration’, it said.1 Bolivia reiterated its support for the Treaty’s universalisation, and called on ‘States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify it without delay or conditions’.2
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, Bolivia said that war, geopolitical tensions and the modernisation of nuclear arsenals are ‘weakening multilateralism and eroding the architecture of disarmament’. It reaffirmed its commitment to ‘a culture of peace and the right to peace’.3
Bolivia was one of the co-sponsors for the 2024 UN General Assembly resolution on the 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’.4
Recommendations
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Bolivia should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Bolivia should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.