El Salvador
El Salvador 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 1972) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1998) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1968, Tlatelolco) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1975) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2004) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1991) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1995) | |
| 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) | 3 (50%) |
| 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 | Yes (Modified) |
Latest developments
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, El Salvador said that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) ‘strengthens the current international disarmament and non-proliferation regime’ and ‘represents a valuable contribution to the [Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)] and to the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation architecture’. It reiterated its call for all UN member States ‘to consider joining it’.1
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, El Salvador noted that it has joined the TPNW, ‘the first international instrument that explicitly prohibits the development, production, manufacturing, acquisition and testing of [nuclear weapons]’, and ‘reaffirmed ‘the intrinsic complementarity between the TPNW and the NPT’.2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, El Salvador acknowledged the ‘tireless work’ for the universalisation of the TPNW and welcomed the recent ratifications of the Treaty by Indonesia, Sierra Leone and the Solomon Islands. ‘El Salvador is firmly convinced that the TPNW complements, in letter and spirit, the NPT and represents the commitment of non-nuclear-weapon States to achieve a world free of these weapons,’ it said.3
El Salvador 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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El Salvador should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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El Salvador should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.