Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra and other Foreign Ministers of the region participated in the XXV General Ministerial Conference of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), held in Mexico City, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Tlatelolco. The Conference was opened by the President of the United Mexican States, Enrique Peña Nieto. The Conference resulted in the adoption of a Declaration by the Member States of OPANAL to mark the anniversary.
Malcorra’s participation is part of Argentina’s strong commitment to international peace and security. Argentina has traditionally given priority to the issue of nuclear disarmament and has made significant efforts in that area, reflecting its clear and sustained commitment to disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. Within this framework, Argentina maintains a vigorous nuclear programme for exclusively peaceful purposes, under which it produces, uses and exports nuclear energy within the framework of the strictest respect for the norms enshrined in international treaties.
The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, Treaty of Tlatelolco, is the first multilateral legal instrument that prohibited nuclear weapons. Its negotiation concluded on 14 February 1967 and its purpose is to prohibit the testing, use, manufacture, production, acquisition or emplacement, by any means whatsoever, of any nuclear weapons, either directly or indirectly, in that region, thereby establishing the first Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In turn, the Treaty created the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), based in Mexico City.
Press Release Nº 034/17
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