Press Release: Cuba supports and strictly complies with the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.

New York, October 16, 2017.  Cuba supports and strictly complies with the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, stated Cuban Second Secretary to the United Nations, Lilianne Sanchez Rodriguez, during the Thematic Debate on "Other Weapons of Mass Destruction", of the First Committee at the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly. She also pointed out that the island does not possess and does not intend to possess any kind of weapons of mass destruction and firmly supports the complete prohibition and elimination of such weapons in a transparent, verifiable and irreversible manner.

The Cuban Representative to the international organization emphasized that the island firmly rejects the use of any weapon of mass destruction by any actor and in any circumstance and reiterated that the only absolute guarantee to prevent the acquisition and use of weapons of mass destruction, even by terrorists, is their total prohibition and elimination.

She also demanded, on behalf of Cuba, the immediate elimination of the limitations and restrictions that impede the broader exchange, particularly for developing countries, of materials, equipment and technology for chemical and biological activities, consistent with the provisions of the relevant international conventions on the matter. She mentioned the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed against Cuba for nearly 60 years, as a clear example of this situation.

Sanchez Rodriguez highlighted the work done by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on its 20th anniversary, and reaffirmed that the promotion of the economic and technological development of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, particularly the least developed ones, remains one of the pending issues and should be a priority of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations