Esteemed Ambassadors,
Distinguished representatives,
The context we are living in is challenging and complex and is marked by the devastating impact of a pandemic that has deepened structural inequities and catalyzed a global multidimensional crisis.
The threats to international peace and security have intensified; conflicts escalate; unjust and illegal sanctions and unilateral coercive measures are imposed against developing countries; the survival of our species is endangered by irrational production and consumption patterns; the arms race has increased exponentially squandering the resources that should be allocated to achieve sustainable development and the desired worldwide immunization against the pandemic.
Multilateralism is faced with enormous challenges. In such a context, the role of the United Nations, international cooperation and the peaceful settlement of disputes become increasingly relevant.
As Cuba takes on the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament, it calls on all the members of the Conference to renew their commitment to this forum.
It is encouraging to know that a decision has been adopted to revitalize the work of this body, that is an essential piece of the United Nations disarmament machinery. Now it is imperative to fulfill its negotiating mandate, ensure its vitality and preserve its procedures and practices.
We are convinced that the Conference has the capacity to simultaneously negotiate a legally binding instrument to forbid the arms race in the outer space, another instrument providing security guarantees to those countries that, like Cuba, are non-nuclear-weapon States, and a third instrument forbidding the production of fissile material to manufacture nuclear weapons or other devices of a similar nature.
Distinguished colleagues,
We express our great concern and alarm over the imminent danger of a nuclear conflagration, whose devastating effects no nation will be able to evade.
The total elimination of nuclear weapons in a transparent, verifiable and irreversible manner is and should remain the top priority in terms of disarmament and the top priority of this Conference. It is the only guarantee against the use or threat of use of these weapons.
We will continue promoting the universalization of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which embodies the humanistic thinking of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz.
Cuba takes pride in the fact that it was the fifth State to ratify the Treaty, in being part of the first Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone in a densely populated area of the planet, and in belonging to the first region of the world that was proclaimed as a Peace Zone.
As Cuba is a small island developing nation, that has resisted all kinds of pressure and threats, including military aggression, non-conventional war and a brutal economic, commercial and financial blockade for more than six decades, we strongly endorse and support the principles and rules of International Law, defend peace in all circumstances and oppose, without reservation, the use or threat of use of force against any State.
The U.S. determination to continue NATO’s progressive expansion towards the Russian Federation borders has brought about a scenario with implications of unpredictable scope, which could have been avoided by paying heed, earnestly and respectfully, to Russia’s well-founded claims for security guarantees.
We will continue calling for a serious, constructive and realistic diplomatic solution to the current crisis in Europe by peaceful means, ensuring the security and sovereignty of all, and regional and international peace, stability and security.
A world of justice, dignity and peace will only be possible if the current unjust and antidemocratic world order is changed, if cooperation between States prevails and if the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and International Law are fully respected, together with the commitments and obligations undertaken and the peoples’ right to peace, development and justice.
Thank you.
