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Mexico
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
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SIGNED
20 September 2017 |
RATIFIED
16 January 2018 |
IN FORCE
22 January 2021 |
Status
Mexico has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). It was among the original 50 states parties to the treaty when it entered into force on 22 January 2021.
Signature and ratification
Luis Videgaray Caso, the then-secretary of foreign affairs of Mexico, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.
In an address to the United Nations following the signing ceremony, Videgaray said that Mexico had signed the TPNW because “the existence of nuclear weapons poses a threat to the whole of humanity”.
Luis Videgaray Caso, the then-secretary of foreign affairs of Mexico, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN
Miguel Ruíz Cabañas, the assistant secretary for multilateral affairs and human rights, deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 16 January 2018. The Mexican senate gave its unanimous approval for ratification in November 2017.
Mexico was the fourth state to ratify the TPNW.
Miguel Ruíz Cabañas, the assistant secretary for multilateral affairs and human rights, deposits the instrument of ratification in 2018. Photo: UNOLA
National position
In 2021, the then-secretary of foreign affairs of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, hailed the TPNW’s entry into force as a “milestone” and called upon all states “to welcome this development that contributes to a safer and more peaceful world”.
In 2022, Mexico described the TPNW as “the logical culmination of international law and the conviction of the [UN] General Assembly regarding the intrinsically immoral nature of nuclear weapons”.
It also noted that the treaty “is gaining in universality”. According to Mexico, “the norm has been established and contributes, every day, to the consolidation of … customary international law”.
Mexico regards the TPNW as “complementary” to, “fully compatible” with and “mutually reinforcing” of the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968, and “a tangible expression of the obligations under its Article VI”.
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Mexico submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 22 January 2021 confirming that it does not own, possess, or control nuclear weapons, has never done so, and does not host any other state’s nuclear weapons on its territory.
Per Article 12, Mexico has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.
Meetings of states parties
Mexico participated in, and served as a vice-president of, the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. “We are, without a doubt, at a historical event,” it said. “The TPNW is a necessary and critical link in what has been a long road towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.”
New Zealand and Mexico were appointed co-chairs of an informal working group responsible for promoting implementation of Article 4 of the TPNW, in particular with respect to the future designation of a competent international authority or authorities to oversee such work.
The meeting approved the nomination of the Mexican ambassador Juan Ramón de la Fuente to serve as president of the second meeting of states parties, to be held in New York from 27 November to 1 December 2023.
TPNW negotiations
Mexico participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.
In its opening statement to the negotiating conference, Mexico described the TPNW as “a global extension of the various treaties that establish zones free of nuclear weapons” and expressed hope that “the collective will of the international community” convinces nuclear-armed states, in the near future, to adhere to the treaty.
Mexico, Austria, Brazil, Ireland, Nigeria, and South Africa comprised a “core group” of states that played a leading role in bringing the negotiations about and ensuring their ultimate success.
In 2016, Mexico initiated and co-sponsored the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Before the negotiations
Mexico was among 127 states that endorsed a “humanitarian pledge” in 2015–16 to cooperate “in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit, and eliminate nuclear weapons”. The pledge was instrumental in building momentum and support for convening the TPNW negotiations.
In 2014, Mexico hosted the second in a series of inter-governmental conferences on the “humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons”, in the state of Nayarit. The Mexican chair of the conference, Juan Gómez Robledo, concluded that a diplomatic process must be launched for the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
The Nayarit conference helped cement the idea that the prohibition of nuclear weapons is a necessary precondition for their elimination, based on experience with other types of indiscriminate weapons. It was hailed as “a point of no return” in the process to outlaw nuclear weapons.
Delegates representing 146 states meet in Nayarit, Mexico, in 2014 for the second conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons. Photo: ICAN
ICAN campaigners meet in Nayarit, Mexico, ahead of the second conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons in 2014. Photo: ICAN
Further information
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has joined the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
|
|
|
|
SIGNED
20 September 2017 |
RATIFIED
16 January 2018 |
IN FORCE
22 January 2021 |
Status
Mexico has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). It was among the original 50 states parties to the treaty when it entered into force on 22 January 2021.
Signature and ratification
Luis Videgaray Caso, the then-secretary of foreign affairs of Mexico, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.
In an address to the United Nations following the signing ceremony, Videgaray said that Mexico had signed the TPNW because “the existence of nuclear weapons poses a threat to the whole of humanity”.
Luis Videgaray Caso, the then-secretary of foreign affairs of Mexico, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN
Miguel Ruíz Cabañas, the assistant secretary for multilateral affairs and human rights, deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 16 January 2018. The Mexican senate gave its unanimous approval for ratification in November 2017.
Mexico was the fourth state to ratify the TPNW.
Miguel Ruíz Cabañas, the assistant secretary for multilateral affairs and human rights, deposits the instrument of ratification in 2018. Photo: UNOLA
National position
In 2021, the then-secretary of foreign affairs of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, hailed the TPNW’s entry into force as a “milestone” and called upon all states “to welcome this development that contributes to a safer and more peaceful world”.
In 2022, Mexico described the TPNW as “the logical culmination of international law and the conviction of the [UN] General Assembly regarding the intrinsically immoral nature of nuclear weapons”.
It also noted that the treaty “is gaining in universality”. According to Mexico, “the norm has been established and contributes, every day, to the consolidation of … customary international law”.
Mexico regards the TPNW as “complementary” to, “fully compatible” with and “mutually reinforcing” of the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968, and “a tangible expression of the obligations under its Article VI”.
Implementation
In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Mexico submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 22 January 2021 confirming that it does not own, possess, or control nuclear weapons, has never done so, and does not host any other state’s nuclear weapons on its territory.
Per Article 12, Mexico has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.
Meetings of states parties
Mexico participated in, and served as a vice-president of, the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW, held in Vienna in June 2022. “We are, without a doubt, at a historical event,” it said. “The TPNW is a necessary and critical link in what has been a long road towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.”
New Zealand and Mexico were appointed co-chairs of an informal working group responsible for promoting implementation of Article 4 of the TPNW, in particular with respect to the future designation of a competent international authority or authorities to oversee such work.
The meeting approved the nomination of the Mexican ambassador Juan Ramón de la Fuente to serve as president of the second meeting of states parties, to be held in New York from 27 November to 1 December 2023.
TPNW negotiations
Mexico participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.
In its opening statement to the negotiating conference, Mexico described the TPNW as “a global extension of the various treaties that establish zones free of nuclear weapons” and expressed hope that “the collective will of the international community” convinces nuclear-armed states, in the near future, to adhere to the treaty.
Mexico, Austria, Brazil, Ireland, Nigeria, and South Africa comprised a “core group” of states that played a leading role in bringing the negotiations about and ensuring their ultimate success.
In 2016, Mexico initiated and co-sponsored the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Before the negotiations
Mexico was among 127 states that endorsed a “humanitarian pledge” in 2015–16 to cooperate “in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit, and eliminate nuclear weapons”. The pledge was instrumental in building momentum and support for convening the TPNW negotiations.
In 2014, Mexico hosted the second in a series of inter-governmental conferences on the “humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons”, in the state of Nayarit. The Mexican chair of the conference, Juan Gómez Robledo, concluded that a diplomatic process must be launched for the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
The Nayarit conference helped cement the idea that the prohibition of nuclear weapons is a necessary precondition for their elimination, based on experience with other types of indiscriminate weapons. It was hailed as “a point of no return” in the process to outlaw nuclear weapons.
Delegates representing 146 states meet in Nayarit, Mexico, in 2014 for the second conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons. Photo: ICAN
ICAN campaigners meet in Nayarit, Mexico, ahead of the second conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons in 2014. Photo: ICAN
Further information
[PARTNERS]
Latin American Circle of International Studies
Mexican Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
[LOCALSUPPORT]
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