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 (2025) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 3.33 (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 (Revised) |
Latest developments
At the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025, El Salvador urged all States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Treaty without delay. ‘For El Salvador, the TPNW is the appropriate platform to reaffirm the urgency of addressing the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences of the use of any nuclear weapon,’ it said. ‘These realities demand immediate action to move toward a world free of nuclear weapons.’1
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, El Salvador highlighted the concerns expressed by TPNW States Parties in relation to ‘the implications of emerging technologies in the nuclear field’. ‘El Salvador hopes that nuclear-weapon States, while working toward the goal of their complete elimination, will commit to maintaining meaningful human control over these weapons and their delivery systems,’ it said.2 It also noted that the TPNW ‘complements the NPT regime, strengthening its disarmament pillar’.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, El Salvador described the TPNW as ‘an effective means of achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons’ and reiterated its call for ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify this instrument’. ‘Nuclear weapons represent a global threat, the humanitarian consequences of which no State could possibly face,’ it stressed.4
El Salvador co-sponsored the 2025 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’.5
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.