Mr. Chairman,
We appreciate this tribute for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the conclusion of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco).
We welcome the recent statement by the Member States of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean and its circulation as an official document of the United Nations.
Our country recognizes and is proud of the region's significant contribution to nuclear disarmament and the maintenance of international peace and security, with the creation of first densely populated area in the world to be declared as a nuclear-weapon- free zone under the Treaty of Tlatelolco, and the first region to be formally proclaimed "Zone of Peace", on the occasion of the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), held in Havana, Cuba, in January 2014.
Despite what has been achieved in our region, which is an inspiration for other regions of the world regarding nuclear disarmament, we are not satisfied. The continued existence of nuclear weapons poses an imminent danger even for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The nuclear-weapon states have not withdrawn their interpretative declarations concerning Protocols I and II of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, contrary to the spirit of the Treaty and to the militarily denuclearized character of our region. They still fail to comply with the provisions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the agreements emanating from the Review Conferences of States Parties thereto.
In view of the above, and within the framework of the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, we must promote other actions and initiatives by OPANAL and the region to promote and achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. In this regard, in addition to continue the work to improve coordination and cooperation with States Parties on other Treaties on Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones, we should set the objective to actively participate in the United Nations Conference on the negotiation of an Instrument for the prohibition of nuclear weapons, on the occasion of the celebration of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and at the High-Level International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament in 2018.
Thank you very much