Honduras

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

24 October 2020

IN FORCE

22 January 2021

 

Status

Honduras 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

Marïa Dolores Agüero Lara, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Honduras, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.

Honduras deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 24 October 2020, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The then-minister of foreign affairs of Honduras, Lisandro Rosales, described it as “an historic day”.

Honduras was the 50th state to ratify or accede to the TPNW, triggering its entry into force. The national congress of Honduras unanimously approved the ratification one month earlier, on 24 September 2020.

Marïa Dolores Agüero Lara, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Honduras, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN

 

National position

In 2022, Honduras welcomed the TPNW’s entry into force, noting that the new treaty “is not only complementary to the [Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968], but also reaffirms and strengthens it”.

In 2023, it described the TPNW as a contribution of non-nuclear-armed states towards the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.

 

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Honduras submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 15 March 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, Honduras 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”.

Honduras has also utilised the UN Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review process to encourage other states to join the TPNW.

 

Meetings of states parties

Honduras participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022, which it described as a “historic event”. “[Honduras] is convinced that nuclear weapons do not represent security for anybody, but rather a threat to all,” it said.

It also participated in the second meeting of states parties in 2023, where it argued that the universalisation of the TPNW must involve efforts by states and transnational networks to stigmatise not only the use of nuclear weapons, but also their very existence.

“Today, the states parties to the TPNW will continue to contribute to developing mechanisms to implement the treaty and translate its provisions into concrete actions that allow the establishment of measures for the elimination of nuclear weapon programmes,” it said.

 

TPNW negotiations

Honduras 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 2016, Honduras 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

Honduras 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

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

[HIGHLIGHTS]

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

24 October 2020

IN FORCE

22 January 2021

 

Status

Honduras 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

Marïa Dolores Agüero Lara, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Honduras, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.

Honduras deposited its instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 24 October 2020, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The then-minister of foreign affairs of Honduras, Lisandro Rosales, described it as “an historic day”.

Honduras was the 50th state to ratify or accede to the TPNW, triggering its entry into force. The national congress of Honduras unanimously approved the ratification one month earlier, on 24 September 2020.

Marïa Dolores Agüero Lara, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Honduras, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN

 

National position

In 2022, Honduras welcomed the TPNW’s entry into force, noting that the new treaty “is not only complementary to the [Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968], but also reaffirms and strengthens it”.

In 2023, it described the TPNW as a contribution of non-nuclear-armed states towards the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.

 

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Honduras submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 15 March 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, Honduras 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”.

Honduras has also utilised the UN Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review process to encourage other states to join the TPNW.

 

Meetings of states parties

Honduras participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022, which it described as a “historic event”. “[Honduras] is convinced that nuclear weapons do not represent security for anybody, but rather a threat to all,” it said.

It also participated in the second meeting of states parties in 2023, where it argued that the universalisation of the TPNW must involve efforts by states and transnational networks to stigmatise not only the use of nuclear weapons, but also their very existence.

“Today, the states parties to the TPNW will continue to contribute to developing mechanisms to implement the treaty and translate its provisions into concrete actions that allow the establishment of measures for the elimination of nuclear weapon programmes,” it said.

 

TPNW negotiations

Honduras 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 2016, Honduras 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

Honduras 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

[PARTNERS]

Región Latinoamericana de la Organización Mundial de Personas con Discapacidad (RLOMPD) 

[LOCALSUPPORT]

 

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