Uruguay

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

SIGNED

20 September 2017

RATIFIED

25 July 2018

IN FORCE

22 January 2021

Status

Uruguay 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

Elbio Rosselli, the then-permanent representative of Uruguay to the United Nations, 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 following the ceremony, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Uruguay, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, called on “all countries to sign this instrument, which aims to ensure a decent life for future generations”.

Rosselli deposited Uruguay’s instrument of ratification with the UN secretary-general on 25 July 2018. Uruguay was the 13th state to ratify or accede to the treaty.

Elbio Rosselli, the then-permanent representative of Uruguay to the United Nations, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN

Rosselli deposits Uruguay’s instrument of ratification in 2018. Photo: UNOLA

National position

Uruguay welcomed the TPNW’s entry into force in 2021 as “a milestone in nuclear disarmament” and “a significant commitment to international peace and security”.

It has described the TPNW as complementary to the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968.

Implementation

In accordance with Article 2 of the TPNW, Uruguay submitted a declaration to the UN secretary-general on 3 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, Uruguay 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, Uruguay 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 2024, it urged states that have not yet joined the TPNW “to do so without delay”, warning that “the very existence of nuclear weapons remains a real threat to humanity”.

Meetings of states parties

Uruguay participated in the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022. “Now more than ever, we must consider the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that the use of nuclear weapons could bring,” it said. “They are absolutely contrary to the inalienable right to life.”

It also participated in the second meeting of states parties in 2023, at which it was appointed as a co-chair of an informal working group responsible for promoting greater adherence to the TPNW, and the third meeting in 2025.

TPNW negotiations

Uruguay 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, Uruguay said that, although it will still take some time to eliminate all nuclear weapons, “we have made very clear and put in writing that nuclear weapons are illegal, and we are committed to their abolition”.

In 2016, Uruguay 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

Uruguay 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 and ratification

National position

Implementation

Meetings of states parties

TPNW negotiations

Before the negotiations

Further information

Local Partner Organizations

Uruguay

Nuclear-weapon-free state

Has joined the TPNW

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