Mr. Chairman,
We reiterate our firm, transparent and consistent position in favor of the banning and total elimination of nuclear weapons.
Cuba reiterates its profound concern about the existence of nuclear weapons and the threat they pose to the survival of the human species.
Let us recall the devastating consequences of the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki for human beings and the environment. At present, the use of a very small part of the 14,935 existing nuclear weapons, far more developed than those used 72 years ago, would mean the end of humanity.
Mr. Chairman,
It is alarming that nuclear-weapon States have programs in place to modernize these weapons, in a vertical and qualitative nuclear proliferation, which is scarcely denounced, as well as the nuclear tests conducted for this purpose in laboratories and supercomputers.
We reject all nuclear-weapon tests, including the testing carried out by means of subcritical experiments, in supercomputers and using other sophisticated non-explosive methods.
Nuclear weapons and their testing are contrary to the nuclear disarmament regime, the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
Mr. Chairman,
Cuba welcomes the adoption, last 7 July 2017, of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which, in addition to delegitimizing and declaring nuclear weapons and the so-called "nuclear deterrence doctrine" as illegal, provides a legally binding framework for the destruction and total elimination of these weapons in an irreversible and verifiable manner and prohibits all kinds of tests.
In this regard, we encourage the rapid entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and urge all States, parliaments, civil society and non-governmental organizations to sign or encourage the signing of this document shortly.
Mr. Chairman,
We are responsible for raising awareness on the threat posed by nuclear weapons and working for a world free of nuclear weapons for the benefit of present and future generations.
The threat posed to mankind by the mere existence of nuclear weapons justifies the need to celebrate the International Day against Nuclear Tests. It is worth recalling that since the first nuclear test in 1945, nearly 2000 tests of this type have been carried -not considering in these statistics non-explosive tests.
We call on continuing to push forward the goal of a comprehensive nuclear test ban and to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons next September 26.
Nuclear disarmament is and should remain the highest priority in the field of disarmament. We will stand firm in our commitment to bequeath a better world to future generations, forever free from nuclear weapons.
Thank you very much
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations