Colombia
Colombia is in the process of ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). In August 2024, a Bill for the Treaty’s ratification was submitted to the Congress of Colombia.1 Once it has been approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, it will require the signature of the President and a final review by the Constitutional Court.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No (Signed 2018) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1986) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2008, Annex 2 state) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1972, Tlatelolco) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1982) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2009) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1983) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2000) | |
| 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) | 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) | Voted yes |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | Yes |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No |
Latest developments
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, Colombia reaffirmed the importance of the TPNW in the nuclear disarmament regime. ‘The approaches of the NPT and the TPNW cannot be considered as mutually exclusive, but rather complementary,’ it said.2
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2024, the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, said: ‘We need to build the greatest army of all time, made up of the warriors of life. The army of life will not have the weapons of the global oligarchy, it will not have nuclear weapons … but it will have the greatest power of all: the power of a united humanity that will not let its existence on the planet be taken away from it.’3
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, Colombia called for the universalisation of the various instruments that comprise the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.4
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Colombia said that it remains committed to the total elimination of nuclear weapons, noting that such weapons pose ‘a threat to security, the environment and future generations’.5
Recommendations
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Colombia should urgently ratify the TPNW.