Mexico
Mexico 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 2018) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1969) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1999, Annex 2 state) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1967, Tlatelolco) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1973) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2011) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1974) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1994) | |
| 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) | 6.5 (32.5%) |
| 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
Mexico served as president of the Second Meeting of States Parties (2MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2023. ‘The political declaration adopted at that meeting is unequivocal on the urgency of nuclear disarmament and the incompatibility of nuclear weapons with international security,’ it said in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024.1 Mexico currently holds the position of gender focal point for the Treaty.
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2024, the then-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, said that ‘it is imperative that we redouble our efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons’, as ‘their devastating effects, which cannot be contained in space or time, make them contrary to international law and the survival of humanity’.2
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, Mexico welcomed the recent ratifications of the TPNW by Indonesia, Sierra Leone, and the Solomon Islands, and invited all states that have not yet ratified the Treaty to do so ‘without delay’.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Mexico warned: ‘We cannot continue on the current trajectory, in which nuclear weapons hold prominence in the security strategies of an ever-growing number of countries.’4 However, it also noted the strong rejection of nuclear weapons by most states, as reflected by their adherence to NWFZ treaties and the TPNW, for example.
At the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, Mexico noted that some states have made commitments ‘that are additional and complementary to those of NPT’, including by joining the TPNW.5
Mexico 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’.6
Recommendations
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Mexico should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Mexico should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.