Dominican Republic

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

SIGNED

7 June 2018

RATIFIED

22 September 2022

IN FORCE

21 December 2022

Status

The Dominican Republic has signed and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and has been legally bound by it since 21 December 2022.

Signature and ratification

Miguel Vargas, the then-minister of foreign affairs of the Dominican Republic, signed the TPNW in New York on 7 June 2018.

The vice-minister of multilateral foreign policy of the Dominican Republic, Rubén Arturo Silié Valdez, deposited the country’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 22 September 2022.

The senate of the Dominican Republic approved ratification of the TPNW on 6 April 2022 and the chamber of deputies did the same on 13 July 2022. In 2020, the constitutional tribunal declared the treaty to be consistent with the nation’s constitution.

The Dominican Republic was the equal 67th state to ratify or accede to the TPNW.

The minister of foreign affairs of the Dominican Republic, Roberto Álvarez Gil, said in September 2022 that his country’s ratification of the TPNW was proof of its firm support for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Miguel Vargas, the then-minister of foreign affairs of the Dominican Republic, signs the TPNW in 2018. Photo: UNOLA

The foreign affairs committee of the chamber of deputies examines the TPNW in 2022. Photo: Chamber of Deputies

Rubén Arturo Silié Valdez, a vice-minister for foreign affairs, deposits the instrument of ratification in 2022. Photo: UNOLA

National position

In 2023, the Dominican Republic described the TPNW as complementary to the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty and “an important milestone in the search for the total elimination of nuclear weapons”.

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, the Dominican Republic submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 22 November 2023 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, the Dominican Republic 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”.

In 2022, the Dominican Republic encouraged “states that have not yet done so to accede to the [TPNW] with a view to its universalisation”. It also expressed its “deep gratitude to the organisations and delegations that work tirelessly towards this overall goal”.

Meetings of states parties

The Dominican Republic observed the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022. “The adoption in July 2017 of the [TPNW] and its entry into force in January 2021 are historic achievements,” it said. “They represent the culmination of decades of efforts aimed at eliminating these weapons of mass destruction.”

Having become a TPNW state party on 21 December 2022, the Dominican Republic participated in the second meeting of states parties in 2023.

It described the meeting as “a new opportunity to institutionalise and further strengthen this important monitoring mechanism in the face of the challenge posed by the potential use or threat of nuclear weapons” and it welcomed the progress made in implementing the action plan adopted at the first meeting.

TPNW negotiations

The Dominican Republic 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, the Dominican Republic said that the “historical starting point” for the adoption of measures to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons should be the inter-generational human suffering caused by such weapons.

In 2016, the Dominican Republic 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

The Dominican Republic 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