Venezuela
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, Venezuela said that nuclear weapons pose a grave threat ‘to the survival of humankind’ and all states have a ‘moral duty’ to work towards their elimination in order ‘to free the planet from the risk of extinction’. It urged those states that have not yet done so to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).1
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2018) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1975) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2002) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1970, Tlatelolco) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1982) | |
| AP with the IAEA | No | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1978) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) | |
| 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 (2021) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 3 (33.5%) |
| 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 | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No |
Latest developments
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, Venezuela described the TPNW’s entry into force in 2021 as being ‘of historic importance’. ‘The TPNW stands as a legally binding instrument for the prohibition of nuclear weapons and constitutes a fundamental step towards their irreversible, verifiable and transparent destruction,’ it said, adding that the TPNW and the NPT together ‘stand as the fundamental legal basis for progress towards nuclear disarmament’.2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Venezuela warned of ‘the dangerous deterioration of international agreements on international security, disarmament and non-proliferation’. The current nuclear arms race ignores ‘the aspiration of the peoples of the Earth to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons’, it said.3
Venezuela 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’.4 However, it did not participate in the vote.
Recommendations
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Venezuela should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Venezuela should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
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Venezuela should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).