BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, September 14, 2017 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) became the latest organization on a list of allied countries and agencies to extend congratulations to the Government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis on the occasion of the Federation’s 34th anniversary of Independence.
OPANAL was created as a result of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which was ratified in 1969, and essentially aims to prohibit and prevent the testing, use, storage or transport of nuclear weapons in the region.
In a letter to Prime Minister, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, Secretary General of OPANAL, His Excellency Ambassador Luiz Filipe de Macedo Soares stated, “I have the honour to express to Your Excellency the heartfelt congratulations of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean on the occasion of the commemoration of the 34th Anniversary of Independence of Saint Christopher and Nevis, on 19 September, as well as my most sincere wishes of well-being and prosperity to the people of Saint Christopher and Nevis.”
Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris has been a strong advocate for nuclear disarmament at the international level.
In his presentation at the General Debate of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly held in New York on September 24, 2016, Prime Minister Harris firmly denounced nuclear tests conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), noting that those tests “constitute a threat to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the wider international community. Such nuclear tests violate Security Council Resolution 2270 and the well established regime on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.”
Dr. Harris further stated that, “St. Kitts and Nevis stands resolutely with those who seek to ensure a peaceful world free of the ravages of war and violence.”
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