New York, October 20, 2017.The resources that are now earmarked for war must be devoted to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger, said Ambassador Anayansi Rodriguez Camejo, Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, during her statement at the Thematic Debate on Conventional Weapons, of the First Committee of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.
The Cuban diplomat provided figures describing the current world: 700 million people in the world are extremely poor; 815 million human beings suffer from chronic hunger; 5 million children die in one year from preventable or curable diseases and 758 million adults are illiterate; while major arms producers develop increasingly sophisticated and deadly conventional weapons, thus raising world military expenditures to 1.7 trillion dollars and undermining international stability, security and peace.
She added that double standards in the field of disarmament must also cease, and that the legitimate right of States to manufacture, import and stockpile conventional weapons to meet their legitimate defense and security needs must be respected, pursuant to Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations.
She reiterated the Cuban position that highest priority must be given to regulating and limiting the most sophisticated and destructive conventional weapons, which cause the majority of innocent victims in modern wars. In like manner, she stated that Cuba reaffirms that the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects, adopted by the UN General Assembly, is the principal international benchmark for dealing with illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.
Rodriguez Camejo called for the adoption, as soon as possible, of a Protocol which prohibits lethal autonomous weapons, also called "Killer Robots", before such weapons start to be massively produced and deployed. Similarly, regulations for the use of weapons with some autonomy are required. We call upon to regulate military attack drones, which are causing a high number of civilian casualties.
The ambassador reiterated that in order to eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, we must address and tackle the deep social and economic causes that generate such trade and that it is also required that international cooperation and assistance are tailored to the national needs of the State.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations