Colombia

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has signed the TPNW

Has not yet ratified the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

SIGNED

3 August 2018

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

Status

Colombia has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

Signature

Francisco González, the then-deputy permanent representative of Colombia to the United Nations, signed the TPNW in New York on 3 August 2018.

On 16 June 2025, the Colombian congress approved a bill to ratify the TPNW. The foreign ministry said that this decision advanced Colombia’s “commitment to global peace, progressive disarmament and human security”, in line with its “diplomatic tradition, which has made the peaceful resolution of conflicts and respect for international law fundamental pillars of its foreign policy”.

“With this decision, the government reiterates its conviction that true security is not built through threats, but through cooperation, justice and human dignity,” it said.

The bill was sanctioned into law on 23 July 2025. The final step in Colombia’s ratification process is a review by its constitutional court, which is pending.

The congress of Colombia approves ratification of the TPNW in 2025. Photo: Government of Colombia

Campaigners meet with members of congress in Colombia in 2019 to promote ratification of the TPNW. Photo: Campaña Colombiana Contra Minas

National position

In 2018, Colombia said that “the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is a milestone in the history of nuclear disarmament, and its application will contribute in a substantive manner to international peace and security”.

In 2024, it reaffirmed the importance of the TPNW in the nuclear disarmament regime. “The approaches of the [Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968] and the TPNW cannot be considered as mutually exclusive, but rather complementary,” it said.

Universalisation

Colombia has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by 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”.

TPNW negotiations

Colombia 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 a working paper submitted to the negotiating conference, Colombia proposed principles, objectives, and preambular elements for the treaty. In its closing statement, it said that the TPNW represented a “significant advance for the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime”.

In 2016, Colombia voted in favour of 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

Colombia 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.

Further information

Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor

Status

Signature

National position

Universalisation

TPNW negotiations

Before the negotiations

Further information

Local Partner Organizations

Colombia

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has signed the TPNW

Has not yet ratified the TPNW

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