Mr. Chairman,
We thank Bolivia for having convened this open debate and we commend its excellent work in the presidency of the Council.
Cuba endorses the statement by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Our country shares the legitimate international concern regarding the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.
Limiting international efforts to the horizontal non-proliferation of such weapons is not sufficient. The only effective way to prevent the acquisition and use of weapons of mass destruction, including by terrorists, is their total prohibition and elimination, in a transparent, verifiable and irreversible way.
Our country neither possesses nor intends to possess weapons of mass destruction and has taken measures to ensure the strict implementation of the commitments and obligations contracted as a State Party to the Conventions on Chemical Weapons, on Biological Weapons, the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Treaty of Tlatelolco and as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Mr. Chairman,
Cuba is actively involved in the ongoing negotiations in the framework of the General Assembly, on a Treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination. We support the early adoption, entry into force and implementation of this international instrument. At the same time, we will continue to strongly advocate the adoption, as soon as possible, of a comprehensive Convention including the elimination of nuclear weapons within a specified time frame and under strict international verification.
We reaffirm the need to resume, without further delay, the negotiation of a legally binding Protocol, which will strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention in an effective, comprehensive and balanced manner. The Meeting of States Parties of that Convention in December should have among its priorities to adopt a clear mandate to resume the aforementioned negotiating process.
In the year in which we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Chemical Weapons Convention, Cuba, original signatory and State Party to the Convention, reiterates its firm rejection of the use of chemical weapons by any actor and under any circumstances.
We reject unilateral measures aimed at prohibiting or limiting the legitimate right of States to access and use nuclear energy, biological agents and chemical substances, as well as associated technologies and know-how, for peaceful purposes, and we demand the immediate elimination of such measures.
In view of the danger posed by the existence of weapons of mass destruction and their possible use, the cooperation of the international community must be increased.
The struggle against terrorism must be based on the effective implementation of the United Nations Global Strategy against this scourge, in strict compliance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations.
The actions of the Security Council cannot undermine the existing multilateral treaties on weapons of mass destruction, the international organizations established in this regard, or the role of the General Assembly.
Thank you very much