Nicaragua
Addressing the First Meeting of States Parties (1MSP) to the TPNW in Vienna in June 2022, Nicaragua said: ‘The greatest desire of the inhabitants of Mother Earth is for nuclear weapons to disappear, which are a latent threat to all humanity, including the very peoples of the countries that manufacture and possess them.’[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 (2022) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 2 (100%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Did not vote |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Abstained |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1967, Tlatelolco) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1973) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2000) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1999) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| 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
At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Nicaragua welcomed the entry into force of the TPNW, ‘which for the first time in history prohibits the existence, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons and even nuclear tests’. It also noted that the TPNW complements the NPT and called for its universalisation.2 In a closing statement to the NPT Review Conference, Nicaragua and 64 other TPNW supporters urged ‘all states committed to attain and maintain a world without nuclear weapons to join the TPNW without delay’.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2022, Nicaragua welcomed the ‘successful results’ of the 1MSP to the TPNW and emphasised that the Treaty ‘contributes to the strengthening of the disarmament and non-proliferation regime’.4
Nicaragua was one of the co-sponsors for the 2022 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.'5
Recommendations
- Nicaragua should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Nicaragua should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.