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The XXIX Session of the General Conference of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) convened in Mexico City on 13 November 2025. ICAN was represented at the General Conference by Ms. Maria Eugenia Villareal, of ICAN's International Steering Group partner organization Red de Seguridad Humana para América Latina y el Caribe (SEHLAC).
Ms. Villareal delivered ICAN's statement at the General Conference, which celebrated the region of Latin America and the Caribbean for advancing disarmament, in particular, by innovating the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the world’s first nuclear weapons-free zone covering a populated area. ICAN also welcomed efforts from OPANAL and across the region for the work to universalise and implement the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Nearly every state in Latin America and the Caribbean has signed, if not ratified the TPNW. In its statement, ICAN heralded this progress, welcomed the recent decision by the Congress of Colombia to approve ratification, and took favourable note of further progress towards universalisation in the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) region.
Taking note, however, of concerning rhetoric from a few voices, ICAN urged Latin American states to reinforce the norms it has worked so assiduously to build, to reject statements in favour of nuclear weapons, and to further advance the universalisation and implementation of the TPNW.