Venezuela
Addressing the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022, Venezuela said that ‘Nuclear weapons are morally unacceptable and must be completely eliminated.’[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 (2021) |
| 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 1970, Tlatelolco) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1975) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2002) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1978) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No |
| Additional Protocol | No |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
In a closing statement to the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Venezuela and 64 other TPNW supporters urged ‘all states committed to attain and maintain a world without nuclear weapons to join the TPNW without delay’.2
Marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2022, Venezuela said: ‘Nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction constitute a latent risk that threatens all forms of life on the planet. In an era characterised by increasingly growing conflicts and tensions, the existence of these weapons and their inclusion in the security and defence doctrines of certain countries constitutes a common threat to all of humanity.’3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2022, Venezuela said that it hopes ‘that the entry into force of the [TPNW] will bring us closer, sooner rather than later, to the global goal of eliminating nuclear weapons’.4
Venezuela 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
- Venezuela should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Venezuela should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
- Venezuela should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol with the IAEA.