Costa Rica
Costa Rica was at the forefront of the diplomatic process towards a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons, and Costa Rica’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gómez, chaired the negotiations in 2017 that resulted in the adoption of the TPNW. Costa Rica has signed and ratified the TPNW and is in compliance with all of the prohibitions in Article 1 of the Treaty.
Latest developments and background
On 26 September 2019 Costa Rica’s President, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, made the following statement about the TPNW in the UN: "We have embarked on a path in seeking prohibition and elimination of these terrible weapons. We must fill the existing legal vacuum and add a chapter to international law that should have been written many years ago." He also encouraged states who have not yet done so to sign and speed up the ratification process, and added: "The treaty bolsters the political standard-setting, humanitarian and legal imperatives of nuclear disarmament which are the prime objective of this organization." (bit.ly/2obi545)
Recommendations
- Costa Rica should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Costa Rica should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented into national law.
| Signed |
|---|
| Yes (20 Sep 2017) |
| Adhered |
|---|
| Ratified (5 Jul 2018) |
| Compliance with article 1(1) of the TPNW | ||
|---|---|---|
| Art 1(1)(a) | The prohibition on developing, producing, manufacturing, or otherwise acquiring | Compliant |
| The prohibition on testing | Compliant | |
| The prohibition on possessing or stockpiling | Compliant | |
| Art 1(1)(b) | The prohibition on transferring | Compliant |
| Art 1(1)(c) | The prohibition on receiving transfer or control | Compliant |
| Art 1(1)(d) | The prohibition on using | Compliant |
| The prohibition on threatening to use | Compliant | |
| Art 1(1)(e) | The prohibition on assisting prohibited activities | Compliant |
| The prohibition on encouraging or inducing prohibited activities | Compliant | |
| Art 1(1)(f) | The prohibition on encouraging or inducing prohibited activities | Compliant |
| Art 1(1)(g) | The prohibition on allowing stationing, installation, or deployment | Compliant |
| TPNW process | |
|---|---|
| Vote on mandate resolution (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Participated in treaty negotiations (% women) | Yes (75%) |
| Vote on adoption of treaty text | Voted yes |
| Vote on UNGA resolution 2018 | Voted yes |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Highly enriched uranium stocks | No |
| Civilian plutonium stocks | |
| Fissile material production | No |
| Related treaties and mechanisms | |
|---|---|
| Party to the NPT | Yes |
| Party to a NWFZ | Yes (Tlatelolco) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes |
| Party to the PTBT | Yes |
| Member of the CD | No (Observer) |
| IAEA CSA in force | Yes |
| IAEA AP in force | Yes |
| Party to the CWC | Yes |
| Party to the BWC | Yes |