Uruguay
Addressing the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022, Uruguay said: ‘Now more than ever, we must consider the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that the use of nuclear weapons could bring’… ‘They are absolutely contrary to the inalienable right to life.’[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) | 3 (67%) |
| 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 1968, Tlatelolco) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1981) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1994) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No |
| 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, Uruguay said that the TPNW ‘constitutes a milestone in nuclear disarmament, a significant commitment in favour of international peace and security’. It invited states that have not yet done so to ratify the TPNW, adding that the Treaty ‘strengthens the disarmament regime’.2 In a closing statement to the NPT Review Conference, Uruguay 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, Uruguay described the 1MSP as ‘a milestone in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as a significant commitment in the quest for international peace and security’.4
Uruguay 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
- Uruguay should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Uruguay should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.