Panama
Speaking at the First Meeting of States Parties (1MSP) to the TPNW in Vienna in June 2022, Panama said that the meeting provided ‘a historic opportunity’ to make progress towards a world free of nuclear weapons.[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 (2023) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 2 (0%) |
| 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 1971, Tlatelolco) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1977) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1999) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1974) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1998) |
| 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, Panama welcomed the TPNW’s entry into force as a ‘historic milestone for nuclear disarmament’ and for ensuring full compliance with Article VI of the NPT.2 In a closing statement to the NPT Review Conference, Panama 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, Panama welcomed the convening of the 1MSP and expressed concern at the ‘lack of concrete progress on the part of the states possessing nuclear weapons, regarding the fulfilment of the commitments and legal obligations contained in the NPT’.4
Panama 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
In November 2022, in accordance with its Article 12 obligation to promote universal adherence to the TPNW, Panama recommended that Tunisia and Indonesia ratify the TPNW as part of the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review.6
Recommendations
- Panama should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Panama should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.