Guatemala
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giammattei Falla, said that as a state party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, TPNW and Treaty of Tlatelolco, ‘my country is deeply committed to the common goal of a world free of weapons of mass destruction’. He described nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation as ‘one of the most important pillars’ of the United Nations.[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Test | Compliant | |
| Possess or stockpile | 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 |
| 2MSP delegation size (% women) | 4 (75%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1970, Tlatelolco) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2012) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1973) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2003) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (1 Feb 1982) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Guatemala celebrated the TPNW’s entry into force in 2021 as ‘a milestone’ and ‘a firm step that legally requires the elimination of nuclear weapons’ and strengthens the NPT.2
Guatemala participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, where it expressed grave concern at the increasing risk of the use of nuclear weapons and described the TPNW as ‘a lighthouse representing all of our hopes and aspirations for a world free of nuclear weapons’. It added that, by ratifying the TPNW in 2022, it had ‘reaffirmed its principled position in favour of nuclear disarmament’.3
Guatemala was one of the co-sponsors for the 2023 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which 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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Guatemala should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Guatemala should ensure that all of the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.