Statement by Ambassador Rodolfo Benitez Verson, at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, on behalf of the 32 countries members of the Group of 21 (G-21)

STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR RODOLFO BENITEZ VERSON, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF CUBA, AT THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT, ON BEHALF OF THE 32 COUNTRIES MEMBERS OF THE GROUP OF 21 (G-21)

Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Syrian Arab Republic, Senegal, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tunisia, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

Thank you, Mr. Chair,

I am honored to deliver this abridged version of the statement on behalf of the Group of 21 on the follow-up to the 2013 High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament.

1. The strong support of the international community for taking urgent and effective measures to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons was amply demonstrated at High-level meeting of the General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament held on 26 September 2013, when Heads of State and Government, Foreign Ministers, and other high-level or senior government officials expressed their unambiguous position and policies for nuclear disarmament, in response to the decision adopted in the General Assembly resolution 67/39.
2. Subsequent to this High-Level Meeting, the General Assembly adopted resolutions “Follow-up to the 2013 High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament” which called for the urgent commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament for the early conclusion of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons to prohibit their possession, development, production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling, transfer, use or threat of use and to provide for their destruction.
3. The Group stresses the importance of the commemoration, of the International Day for the Total Elimination of nuclear weapons, which falls on 26 of September. In this regard, the Group expresses its appreciation to Member States, the United Nations system and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, academia, parliamentarians, the mass media and individuals that develop activities in promotion of this International Day and mobilizing international efforts towards achieving the common goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world. The Group invites all stakeholders to continuously promote this International Day.
4. The Group welcomes the formal proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as Zone of Peace, in La Habana, Cuba, in 2014, in which the 33 member countries of CELAC declared the promotion of nuclear disarmament as a priority goal as part of the progress towards general and complete disarmament.
5. The persistent existence of nuclear weapons poses a grave threat to humanity and all life on Earth, and the only defence against the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of a nuclear detonation is the total and irreversible legally binding elimination of nuclear weapons and the maintenance of a nuclear weapon free world.
6. Nuclear disarmament is the highest priority of the CD. The Group reaffirms that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only absolute guarantee against their use or threat of use. Nuclear disarmament has to be pursued in a comprehensive and non-discriminatory manner.
7. The G-21 is mindful of the solemn obligations of States parties, undertaken in article VI of the NPT, particularly to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament and calls for urgent compliance with the legal obligation of the fulfilment of the commitments undertaken in this field.
8. We acknowledge the significant contribution made by a number of countries towards realizing the objective of nuclear disarmament through the establishment of nuclear weapons free zones, as well as by voluntary renunciation of nuclear weapons programmes or withdrawal of all nuclear weapons from their territories, and strongly support the speedy establishment of a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East.
9. We are deeply concerned by the persistent reluctance of NWS parties to the NPT to approach their treaty obligation as an urgent commitment to the total elimination of their nuclear weapons by providing pretexts unacceptable due to the urgency of making concrete actions to avert the adverse consequences of nuclear weapons.
10. In this connection, we recall the unanimous conclusion of the International Court of Justice in its 1996 Advisory Opinion that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to conclusion the negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control.
11. It is the firm belief of the Group that the time has come to transform words into actions. Accordingly, the Group of 21 takes this opportunity to call for the implementation of UNGA resolutions on the “Follow-up to the 2013 High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament”
12. The Group takes note of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of nuclear weapons. In this regard, the States Parties of the Group of 21 to the Treaty, take note of the convening of its First and Second Meetings of States Parties, which adopted a declaration and an action plan, and decisions that strengthen the implementation and institutionalization of the Treaty. The States Parties of the Group of 21 to the Treaty remain fully committed to its implementation and to promote its universalization and are engaging constructively in preparation for the Third Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW towards achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.
13. We therefore request you, Mr. President, to take into account in your on-going consultations, how to take forward the mandate given to the CD by the UN General Assembly on this important issue, and call upon Members of the Conference to support this important initiative.
14. The full version of the statement will be submitted as an official working paper by the Group and should be considered as an integral part of the official record of the CD meeting.

Thank you.