Paraguay

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

23 January 2020

IN FORCE

22 January 2021

Status

Paraguay 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

Eladio Ramón Loizaga Lezcano, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Paraguay, 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 on the day of the signing, the then-president of Paraguay, Horacio Cartes, said: “In Paraguay, a constitutional provision bans weapons of mass destruction. Consequently, our country commends the recent adoption of the [TPNW].”

Eladio Ramón Loizaga Lezcano, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Paraguay, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN

The congress of Paraguay approved the country’s ratification of the TPNW in November 2019, and Julio César Arriola Ramírez, the then-permanent representative of Paraguay to the United Nations, deposited the instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 23 January 2020.

Paraguay was the 35th state to ratify or accede to the TPNW.

Ambassador Julio César Arriola Ramírez deposits Paraguay’s instrument of ratification in 2020. Photo: UNOLA

National position

In 2024, Paraguay described the TPNW as “a milestone in the evolution of international law”. It is “based on the recognition of the human suffering caused by nuclear weapons and their catastrophic consequences, thus providing a humanitarian approach to nuclear disarmament”, it said.

Paraguay considers that the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 is “enhanced and complemented” by the TPNW.

In 2020, Paraguay said that the standard set by the TPNW provides a basis “for future negotiations that could eventually allow the full elimination of these weapons in a verifiable and irreversible manner”.

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Paraguay submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 19 February 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.

As required by Article 3, Paraguay has a comprehensive safeguards agreement in force with the International Atomic Energy Agency to guard against the misuse of nuclear facilities and materials. It also has an additional protocol in force.

Per Article 12, Paraguay has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.

Meetings of states parties

Paraguay participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022. It said that the large and growing number of states adhering to the treaty is “undeniable evidence of the important achievement that this treaty signifies for the global architecture relating to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament”.

It also participated in the second meeting of states parties in 2023 and the third meeting in 2025.

TPNW negotiations

Paraguay 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 closing statement to the negotiating conference, Paraguay welcomed the TPNW’s adoption, noting that the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction is enshrined in its national constitution.

In 2016, Paraguay 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

Paraguay 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 Treaty

Status

Signature and ratification

National position

Implementation

Meetings of states parties

TPNW negotiations

Before the negotiations

Further information

Local Partner Organizations

Paraguay

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

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