Paraguay has become the 35th state to complete the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, confirming the move at the United Nations in New York last week.
The Ban Treaty was agreed by the United Nations in 2017 with the support of 122 nations and was the result of many years campaigning on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. It will come into force once 50 states ratify, so far 35 have done so with many more in the process.
Paraguay is the 11th Latin American country to deposit its instrument of ratification, after Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Uruguay, El Salvador, Panama, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Latin American countries have been among the most vocal proponents of the treaty.
In an address to the United Nations in September 2017, when the treaty opened for signature, Paraguay’s president said: “In Paraguay, a constitutional provision bans weapons of mass destruction. Consequently, our country commends the recent adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
Paraguay has promoted universal adherence to the treaty, including by co-sponsoring a UN General Assembly resolution in 2019 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”. It participated in the negotiation of the treaty at the United Nations in 2017 and voted in favour of its adoption.
Join us as we thank God for this latest ratification and pray that more states would ratify in coming months.
