01 Overview
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones are established by treaty among groups of states in a defined region, prohibiting nuclear weapons within that zone. The five operational NWFZs are: Tlatelolco Treaty (1967) - Latin America & Caribbean; Rarotonga Treaty (1985) - South Pacific; Bangkok Treaty (1995) - Southeast Asia; Pelindaba Treaty (1996) - Africa; Semipalatinsk Treaty (2006) - Central Asia. Together they cover all of Latin America, Africa, the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia - more than 100 states in the Southern Hemisphere and beyond. Mongolia has declared itself a single-state NWFZ. Proposals exist for NWFZs in the Middle East and Northeast Asia, but political obstacles remain significant.
02 Key Provisions
03 Why It Matters
NWFZs have successfully kept nuclear weapons out of most of the developing world. The Africa NWFZ was crucial in verifying South Africa's denuclearisation after it dismantled its 6 weapons in 1989โ1991: the only state ever to voluntarily give up nuclear weapons it built itself.