Excelencies,
Madam President,
I would like to start by congratulating you on your election to preside over the work of the Sixty-first Session of this Committee. We are pleased that Mexico assumes this leadership in representation of our region.
I take this opportunity to express our appreciation to the Office for Outer Space Affairs and particularly, to its Director, Ms. Simonetta Di Pippo for the organization of this High-level Segment.
The delegation of Cuba fully supports the statements made by the G 77 + China and the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, respectively.
Madam President,
Fifty years after the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the international community gathered in Vienna for the celebration of UNISPACE + 50. This Conference is an opportunity to renew the work of our Commission in the coming years with the adoption of new political commitments in space matters in consonance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As early as 1980, Cuba has already become real the desire to explore space, which was possible after the first joint space flight with the then Soviet Union. Cuba thus became the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean, and one of the pioneers worldwide to assist in the international cooperation activities for the exploration of outer space for peaceful purposes.
This is a suitable occasion to pay homage to one of the protagonists of that flight, the first Cuban and Latin American cosmonaut, Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez who was awarded in 2017 with the UNESCO´s Gold Medal on Space Science. Almost four decades after that feat, exploring and using outer space in a peaceful way continues to mean an unattainable dream to the majority of developing countries.
Madam President,
Cuba reiterates its commitment to the use of outer space only for peaceful purposes and under equal conditions for all States, without discrimination and in full compliance with established technical and legal standards.
In that context, we express our concern about the threat of an arms race in outer space, as well as the continued development and improvement of space weapons. We must prevent the militarization of space and prohibit the sitting of all types of weapons; only then we would guarantee their rational use, for peaceful purposes, and for the collective benefit of present and future generations.
Madam President,
Cuba highlights the importance of international cooperation, especially for developing countries and the need for its intensification through capacity-building programs and activities in the scientific and technological fields, making space technology available to all.
Our country pays special attention to the development of space sciences and their applications, particularly the use of technologies for disaster prevention and mitigation, environmental protection and human health. Certainly, the growing development of these sciences will significantly contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Madam President,
We recognize the mandate of this Commission that is a guarantor of the use of outer space for peaceful purposes; as well as its work in scientific, legal and technical issues for the promotion of international dialogue and the exchange of information on the exploration and use of outer space.
At the same time, we are satisfied with its growing membership and we hope that it will continue on the road towards its universalization. It is our duty to ensure that the enormous challenges that threaten the survival of life and our own species on planet Earth are not transferred to Outer Space.
We also reiterate the necessity to strengthen and revitalize the work of the Commission and its respective subcommittees considering the need for strict respect for the principles and agreements that should rule the activities of the States in the exploration and use of outer space and development of the cooperation of the most developed countries in the space field with those of lesser development.
Madam President,
To conclude, we would like to recognize the endorsement of the resolution entitled "Fifty years since the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space: space as a driver of sustainable development" and we encourage the collective effort of all Member States towards these commitments.
I thank you so much.
(Embacuba Austria)