Latin America and the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Power

Since the fiest and only use of atom in wartime, the use of nuclear power has raised serious challenges to international law. In fact, it has a double face: the bellicose and the peaceful one. This essay tries to show how international law has dealt with the question of the proscription of nuclear weapons, for example, by creating the International Atomic Energy Agency, and how later it influenced the peaceful use of nuclear power, the consideration of ecological questions, and the obligation to protect the environment. The preamble of the Treaty of Tlatelolco ineludes a statement establishing that the enormous potential of nuclear fusion is destined for the economic and social developments of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. However, it lacks preciseness in some important topics (such as nuclear explosions for peaceful aims and the subject of ecology), which are a reflection of the context in which it was signed. Later treaties, that create a nuclear weapons-free zones such as the Rarotonga and the Pelinda Agreements, place special emphasis on these aspects.