New York, 14 October 2019.During the general debate of the First Committee, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Ambassador Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo, warned about the current international situation characterized by serious and growing threats to international peace and security and by a progressive erosion of multilateralism, the architecture of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as of multilateral disarmament forums.
She stated that the development of new nuclear weapons systems and the modernization of existing forces and arsenals, the strengthening of the role of those weapons in the military doctrines of defense and security of certain Nuclear-Weapon States, the increase in military expenditure, the proliferation of sophisticated conventional weapons and unconventional warfare, threats of military intervention and attempts to re-impose the unipolar order by ignoring international treaties and the multiplication of unilateral sanctions, undermine the international order and threaten the peace and stability of all peoples.
The senior diplomat also referred to the achievement of nuclear disarmament as the highest priority in the area of disarmament, especially at a time when deep concern is generated by the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review, which lowers the threshold for considering the use of nuclear weapons, including in response to so-called "non-nuclear strategic threats" and makes possible to resume explosive nuclear testing. She recalled that it has been precisely the world's leading power, which has twice used nuclear weapons.
On behalf of Cuba, she supported the prohibition and total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, as the only effective guarantee to prevent their use by any actor and under any circumstances. At the same time, she reaffirmed her commitment to the full, effective and non-discriminatory implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.
She also reiterated her commitment to the implementation of the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects and to the Final Documents of its Review Conferences, which recognize the right of States to acquire and possess weapons for their legitimate self-defense and security needs.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations