26 September 2002
The South African Government welcomes the recent announcement by Cuba at the United Nations General Assembly in New York that it would accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). This would further strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime and contribute to the ultimate goal of achieving a world entirely free from nuclear weapons.
South Africa views the NPT as one of the cornerstones of the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime and trusts that Cuba's intention to join the NPT would inspire the three countries that still remain outside the NPT-fold to also join the Treaty. Cuba's announcement to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons furthermore underscores the importance of a multilateral approach to dealing with issues of international peace and security, which of late seems to have come under increasing pressure.
In the above regard, South Africa is hopeful that Cuba's accession to the NPT will also act as a stimulus for NPT Parties to actively pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, as envisaged in Article VI of the Treaty.
South Africa likewise welcomes Cuba's announcement that it would also ratify the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (the Treaty of Tlatelolco). South Africa is a firm believer that the creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones not only accomplishes an absence of nuclear weapons, but also facilitates political stability within a region, which in turn promotes economic and social development.
The establishment of such zones has long been encouraged by the international community, not only in various General Assembly resolutions, but also in the "Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament" adopted during the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference. More recently, the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in its Final Document reaffirmed the conviction that the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones "enhances global and regional peace and security, strengthens the nuclear non-proliferation regime and contributes towards realizing the objectives of nuclear disarmament".
The South African Government trusts that Cuba's decision to ratify the Treaty of Tlatelolco will lend impetus to the establishment of further nuclear-weapon-free zones in other parts of the world, such as the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia.
Issued by: Department of Foreign Affairs