NEW YORK, 7 July 2017. Cuba defined today the adoption of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty as a historic milestone, resulting from a multilateral discussion of over 70 years.
“The Treaty is a well-deserved tribute to all victims of the use or testing of nuclear weapons”, announced the Representative of Cuba, Ambassador Rodolfo Benítez Versón, while considering it a major step forward, within the imperative path towards nuclear disarmament.
The Cuban diplomat highlighted that with such a treaty, the international community clearly establishes that nuclear weapons are inhumane, immoral, ethically indefensible and, from now on, also illegal.
Right after making considerations as regards the letter of the instrument adopted, the Cuban Ambassador reiterated that the threat posed by nuclear weapons is of the concern of the International community as a whole, as no country would be left immune to the senselessness of a nuclear attack. Hence, he insisted that nuclear disarmament is and, shall continue to be, the highest priority in the field of disarmament.
Benítez Versón reminded that the proclamation of the region of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace emphasizes the steadfast commitment of the countries of CELAC, with the promotion of nuclear disarmament as an objective of priority. He noted that the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty is a key contribution to such objective.
After recalling the validity of the statement made by the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, at the United Nations General Assembly, on 12 October 1979, he made sure that Cuba will stand firm in its commitment to pass on to future generations a better world, free forever of nuclear weapons.(Cubaminrex-Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations).