Geneva, July 11, 2017. A United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has been adopted. This instrument is the result of a process of multilateral discussions over 70 years, which began with the adoption by the UN General Assembly of its first resolution, on January 24, 1946, which called for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
The new Treaty is a well-deserved tribute to all victims of the use or testing of nuclear weapons. Moreover, it is a fundamental step forward in the urgent path towards nuclear disarmament.
Cuba supports the Treaty because it fulfills two main objectives: (1) It establishes a new rule of international law for the categorical prohibition of nuclear weapons in all circumstances; (2) Provides a solid and legally binding framework for destruction and total elimination of nuclear weapons in a transparent, irreversible and verifiable manner, within specific time frames.
With this Treaty, the international community makes it clear that nuclear weapons are not only inhuman, immoral and ethically indefensible; from now on, it will also be illegal. In addition to prohibiting the development, production, manufacture, transfer, possession and stockpiling of nuclear weapons, the Treaty explicitly prohibits the threat of its use, thereby also prohibiting security doctrines based on the so-called "nuclear deterrence".
Cuba welcomes the fact that the new instrument goes beyond the limited scope of the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty, which only prohibits nuclear-weapon test. All kind of nuclear weapon tests of all kinds are now forbidden.
The threat of nuclear weapons is not an exclusive issue of the Nuclear Weapon States. It concerns the international community as a whole, since no country would be immune to the folly of a nuclear attack. The use of a tiny part of the existing 15 000 nuclear weapons would have catastrophic consequences for our planet.
As set out in the Treaty, the only effective way to ensure that mankind will never again suffer the terrible impact of such weapons is its prohibition and total elimination. That is why nuclear disarmament is and should continue to be the highest priority in the field of disarmament.
At the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), held in Havana in January 2014, the Latin American and Caribbean region was formally proclaimed as a Zone of Peace. The Proclamation emphasizes the firm commitment of the CELAC countries to the promotion of nuclear disarmament as a priority objective. The adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is a key contribution to that goal.
As the Cuban leader Fidel Castro told the United Nations General Assembly on October 12, 1979: "It is enough of the illusion that the world's problems can be solved with nuclear weapons. Nuclear bombs can kill the hungry, the sick, the ignorant, but they cannot kill hunger, disease, ignorance."
Cuba will remain firm in its commitment to ensure a better world for future generations, free forever of nuclear weapons.
Permanent Mission of Cuba in Geneva