New York, 28 June 2017. At the Open Debate of the Security Council on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Ambassador Ana Silvia Rodríguez Abascal, Deputy Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, shared the legitimate international concern regarding the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.
Hereupon, she made sure that Cubadoes not possess and has no intention of possessing weapons of mass destruction and has taken steps to ensure the strict implementation of the commitments and obligations undertaken as a State Party to the Conventions on Chemical Weapons, on Biological Weapons, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Treaty of Tlatelolco and as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
She referred to Cuba’s active participation inthe ongoing negotiations at the General Assembly on a Convention prohibiting nuclear weapons with a view to their total elimination. At the same time, she noted the Caribbean nation will continue to advocate for the adoption, as soon as possible, of a comprehensive Convention that includes the elimination of nuclear weapons within a specified period of time, under strict international verification, as well as, the need to resume, without further delay, the negotiation of a legally binding Protocol, which will strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention in an effective, comprehensive and balanced manner.
On behalf of Cuba, she rejected and demanded the immediate removal of unilateral measures aimed at prohibiting or restricting the legitimate right of States to access and use nuclear energy, biological agents and chemical substances for peaceful purposes, as well as the technologies and knowledge associated with them.
In concluding, Rodríguez Abascal insisted upon the fact that actions of the Security Council cannot undermine the existing multilateral treaties on weapons of mass destruction, the international organizations established in this regard, nor the role of the General Assembly.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations