August 6, 2018
For the fifth consecutive year, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) partnered with the Mexican Foreign Ministry, the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), and the Diplomatic Academy (Instituto Matias Romero) to conduct a Summer School on Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation. This year’s course took place in Mexico City from July 23–27, 2018.
The Summer School provides a unique opportunity for junior diplomats from the Latin American and Caribbean region to study and discuss the history, challenges, and new opportunities facing the nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament regimes. The school brought together 30 participants from 26 countries.
The school opened with remarks from Mexico’s Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights Ambassador Miguel Ruiz-Cabañas Izquierdo, Director General of Instituto Matias Romero Dr. Natalia Saltalamacchia, Secretary General of OPANAL Ambassador Luiz Filipe de Macedo Soares, CNS Founding Director Dr. William C. Potter, and Deputy Director General for Political Affairs of the Mexican Foreign Ministry Dr. José Luis Delgado Crespo.
CNS Deputy Director Elena Sokova facilitated in-depth discussions throughout the week that included panels, lectures, and roundtable discussions, as well as the testimony of a survivor of the nuclear bombing in Nagasaki, Yamashita Yasuaki, who shared with participants his personal recollections about the tragic event and life after it. The Summer School also included a field visit to OPANAL Headquarters, where Ambassador Soares spoke to participants on the historical relevance and leadership of the region in multilateral nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.
The school featured senior experts, diplomats, and practitioners from Mexico and the region, as well as CNS experts who led thought-provoking discussions with participants on a wide range of nonproliferation and disarmament topics. Notably, Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gomez, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to United Nations Organizations in Geneva and the President of the Conference to Negotiate the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons—also known as the Ban Treaty—shared her negotiating experience and encouraged participants to continue the important work that continues to distinguish the Latin America and the Caribbean region.
Opening panel of the 2018 Summer School
Participants visited OPANAL Headquarters as part of the Summer School
