Statement by the Cuban Delegation to the 63rd Session of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO
Mr. Chairman:
We congratulate and recognize you for your work at the head of the work of the 63rd session of the Preparatory Commission.
We thank Dr. Robert Floyd, Executive Secretary, for his opening remarks and the presentation of his report, as well as the Provisional Technical Secretariat for the documents prepared for this meeting, of which we take note.
Allow me also to acknowledge the work carried out by the Executive Secretary during these years of his mandate. We hope that he will continue with the same impetus in his second term at the head of the Organization.
Mr. Chairman:
We reaffirm Cuba's historic commitment to nuclear disarmament and the complete and effective prohibition of all nuclear tests, including those carried out by explosion, subcritical and all those executed by sophisticated methods.
The universalization of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the rest of the instruments of the current architecture for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation should be a common and permanent aspiration. That is why we call on States not party to the Treaty to fully join the Treaty, especially those included in Annex II.
We support the preparations for the holding in 2025 of the Science and Technology Conference and the 14th Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT.
Mr. Chairman:
We reaffirm our support for initiatives that promote the participation of women, equitable geographic representation and multilingualism, both within the Commission and the Provisional Technical Secretariat.
We also recognize the positive contribution of the Support and Participation Program for Experts from developing countries. We advocate its continuity.
Mr. Chairman:
The full participation of the States in the work of the Organization must be a guarantee. The application of unilateral coercive measures affects this collective aspiration. In the case of Cuba, the economic, commercial and financial blockade prevents, among other things, our access to all the benefits derived from the work of the Organization.
For Cuba, it is crucial that the CTBT enters into force immediately and joins other instruments that are part of the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime, such as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Achieving complementarity among these instruments is an indispensable premise for progress on the road to general, complete and verifiable disarmament.
Thank you very much.