Cuba will sign the nuclear nonproliferation treaty (NPT) after 34 years of refusal. That leaves only three countries—India, Israel, and Pakistan—all of which are believed to have substantial nuclear weapon programs, outside the treaty.
Cuba’s willingness to sign was announced in September by Cuban foreign minister Felipe Perez Roque during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. Roque said that Cuba had not signed the NPT before because the major nuclear powers—China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US—had not attempted to meet their disarmament commitments under the treaty. Cuba’s decision, says Roque, was motivated by “its commitment to an effective disarmament process that guarantees world peace.” The surprise announcement was welcomed by the international community. “With Cuba’s intention to become party to the NPT, we have come a step closer to a universal nuclear non-proliferation regime,” says Mohamed ElBaradei, the director-general of the International...
