Mr. Secretary General;

Mr. President;

Distinguished Heads of State and Government;

Heads of delegations;

I would like to thank the Republic of Azerbaijan, the current president of the Non-Aligned Movement, for the initiative to convene this Special Session of the General Assembly.

An articulated response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, consistent with the protocols and good practices established by the World Health Organization, can only be promoted at the global scale by this body, which is the most universal and representative of the United Nations system.

It is a sad and undeniable fact that the pandemic has exacerbated the serious problems and colossal challenges that humanity had been already facing before the outbreak of this disease.

We are referring to the wars, including non-conventional wars; the use and threat of use of force and the implementation of unilateral coercive measures, but also about the absence or precarious situation of health services, education and social security under the blind rules of the market and the unequal exchange that has prevailed in the world.

The signs of what some experts have described as the worst economic recession since the Second World War have become dramatically visible today; and no one doubts that the brunt of the crisis will be borne by the countries of the South, which are already affected by the abuse of neoliberal policies that has amplified the ravages caused by poverty.

The foreign debt of developing countries, which has been paid several times before and ha grown bigger as a result of the pandemic, thus severing right off the aspirations of economic and social well-being, is unpayable and should be condoned.

Under the present circumstances, the establishment of a just, democratic and equitable international order is an imperative. It is a condition for the survival of the species in an ever more interconnected and paradoxically unequal world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the human cost of that inequality and has revealed the urgent need to strengthen national health systems; promote universal and free access to basic medical services and guarantee an equitable distribution of vital resources.

The world watches in shock, for example, how the United States, responsible for 38 per cent of the global military budget, is unable to take responsibility for the more than 11 million infected persons and the more than 238 who have died from COVID-19 in that country.

When looking at the harsh situation caused by infections, new outbreaks and the collapse of health services in nations with an enviable prosperity, one question arises: Why is the enormous budget that is currently being dilapidated in the arms race not used instead to confront this and other much older pandemics, such as hunger and poverty?

Mr. President;

Since the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and in view of the possibility that it might become a pandemic, Cuba designed a National Program aimed at its prevention and control. Its implementation is supported by the strengths of our country’s health system –of proven quality standing and universal coverage- and scientific development.

Today, in a spirit of modesty, and also with wholesome pride, we can explain to the world how this was possible.

In Cuba, we have implemented a government management system based on science and innovation, which has furthered up interconnections among such areas as knowledge, production and social services.

This is an inclusive, participatory, systemic, cross-cutting and intersectoral system that crystallizes and achieves its best results in the robust protocols applied in coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and the responsible attitude adopted by our people.

In other words, what we do is to give practical expression to the way in which the social system operates in Cuba and is capable of solving or successfully tackle very complex problems, while human beings are the top priority of the government’s work.

The role of science and its articulation with government management has been crucial. The relevant achievements attained by the medical and pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology allow us to be in a better position to cope with the disease. Two Cuban candidate vaccines that are currently going through the clinical trial phase have been included among the 47 registered by the World Health Organization.

Faithful to our humanist vocation, 53 Cuban medical brigades have helped to cope with the disease in 39 countries and territories, which joined those that were already offering their services in 59 nations.

That has been possible even under the heavy burden of the criminal and unjust blockade imposed by the government of the United States –which has been tightened in an unprecedented way- and a cynical disparagement campaigned launched against our international medical cooperation.

Here we denounce that aggressive behavior against Cuba and other sovereign nations as well as the announced attempt to re-enact the Monroe Doctrine, which is a violation of International Law and the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

Our commitment to the purposes and principles of this Organization remains unaltered. We remain firmly and resolutely committed to continue working in favor of multilateralism, solidarity, human dignity and social justice.

This global emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic sounds like a new call to the world’s awareness. This time we should listen to it. Yes, we can. Cuba is an example of that.

Thank you, very much

(Cubaminrex)

Mr. Secretary General,
Mr. President,

A global pandemic has changed everyday life drastically. From one day to the next, millions of people get infected and thousands die even when their life expectancy was longer thanks to development. Hospital systems with high-level services have collapsed and the health structures of poor countries are affected by their chronic lack of capacity. Drastic quarantines are turning the most populated cities into deserted areas. Social life is non-existent except in the digital networks. Theaters, discos, galleries and even schools are closed or being readjusted.

Our borders have been closed, our economies are shrinking and our reserves are dwindling. Life is experiencing a radical redesigning of age-old ways and uncertainty is replacing certainty. Even close friends cannot recognize each other due to the masks that protect us from the contagion. Everything is changing.

Like finding a solution to the pandemic, it is already urgent to democratize this indispensable Organization so that it effectively meets the needs and aspirations of all peoples.
The sought-after right of humanity to live in peace and security, with justice and freedom, the basis for unity among nations, is constantly under threat.
Over 1.9 trillion dollars are being squandered today in a senseless arms race promoted by the aggressive and war-mongering policies of imperialism, whose leader is the present government of the US, which accounts for 38 percent of the global military expenditure.
We are referring to a markedly aggressive and morally corrupt regime that despises and attacks multilateralism, uses financial blackmailing in its relations with UN system agencies and that, in a show of unprecedented overbearance, has withdrawn from the World Health Organization, UNESCO and the Human Rights Council.

Paradoxically, the country where the UN headquarters is located is also staying away from fundamental international treaties such as the Paris Agreement on climate change; it rejects the nuclear agreement with Iran reached by consensus; it promotes trade wars; it ends its commitment with international disarmament control instruments; it militarizes cyberspace; it expands coercion and unilateral sanctions against those who do not bend to its designs and sponsors the forcible overthrow of sovereign governments through non-conventional war methods.

Along such line of action, which ignores the old principles of peaceful co-existence and respect of the right of others´ to self-determination as the guarantee for peace, the Donald Trump administration it also manipulating, with subversive aims, cooperation in the sphere of democracy and human rights, while in its own territory there is an abundance of practically uncontrolled expressions of hatred, racism, police brutality and irregularities in the election system and as to the voting rights of citizens

It is urgent to reform the UN. This powerful organization, which emerged after the loss of millions of lives in two world wars and as a result of a world understanding of the importance of dialogue, negotiation, cooperation and international law, must not postpone any further its updating and democratization. Today´s world needs the UN just as the one where it came into being did.

Something that is very special and profound has failed, as evidenced by the daily and permanent violation of the UN Charter principles, and by the ever-increasing use or threat of use of force in international relations.

There is no way to sustain any longer, as if it were natural and unshakable, an unequal, unjust and anti-democratic International order where selfishness prevails over solidarity and the mean interests of a powerful minority over the legitimate aspirations of millions of people.
Notwithstanding the dissatisfactions and the demands for change that, together with other states and millions of citizens in the world, we are presenting to the UN, the Cuban Revolution shall always uphold the existence of the Organization, to which we owe the little but indispensable multilateralism that is surviving imperial overbearance.

More than once, at this very forum, Cuba has reiterated its willingness to cooperate with the democratization of the UN and the upholding of international cooperation, that can be saved only by it. As stated by the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and I quote: “The international community shall always count on Cuba´s honest voice in the face of injustice, inequality, underdevelopment, discrimination and manipulation, and for the establishment of a more just and equitable international order which really centers on human beings, their dignity and wellbeing.” End of quote.

Mr. President,
Coming back to the seriousness of the present situation, which many blame only on the COVID-19 pandemic, I think it is essential to say that its impact is by far overflowing the health sphere.
Due to its nefarious sequels, impressive death toll and damages to the world economy and the deterioration of social development levels, the spreading of the pandemic in the last few months brings anguish and despair to leaders and citizens in practically all nations.
But the multidimensional crisis it has unleashed clearly shows the great mistake of the dehumanized policies fully imposed by the market dictatorship.

Today, we are witnessing with sadness the disaster the world has been led to by the irrational and unsustainable production and consumption system of capitalism, decades of an unjust international order and the implementation of ruthless and rampant neoliberalism, which has widened inequalities and sacrificed the right of peoples to development.
Unlike excluding neoliberalism, which puts aside and discards millions of human beings and condemns them to survive on the leftovers from the banquet of the richest one percent, the COVID-19 virus does not discriminate between them, but its devastating economic and social effects shall be lethal among the most vulnerable and those with lower incomes, whether they live in the underdeveloped world or in the pockets of poverty of big industrial cities.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) projections, the 690 million people who were going hungry in 2019 might be joined by a further 130 million as a result of the economic recession caused by the pandemic. Studies by the International Labor Organization (ILO) say that over 305 million jobs have been lost and that more than 1.6 billion workers are having their livelihoods at stake.
We cannot face COVID-19, hunger, unemployment and the growing economic and social inequalities between individuals and countries as unrelated phenomena. There is an urgency to implement integrated policies that prioritize human beings and not economic profits or political advantages.
It would a crime to postpone decisions that are for yesterday and for today. It is imperative to promote solidarity and international cooperation to lessen the impact.

Only the UN, with its world membership, has the required authority and reach to resume the just struggle to write off the uncollectable foreign debt which, aggravated by the social and economic effects of the pandemic, is threatening the survival of the peoples of the South.
Mr. President,

The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak and the early signs that it would bring a pandemic did not catch Cuba off guard.
With the decade-long experience of facing terrible epidemics, some of which were provoked deliberately as part of the permanent war against our political project, we immediately implemented a series of measures based on our main capabilities and strengths, namely, a well-structured socialist state that cares for the health of its citizens, a highly-skilled human capital and a society with much people´s involvement in its decision-making and problem solving processes.

The implementation of those measures, combined with the knowledge accrued for over 60 years of great efforts to create and expand a high-quality and universal health system, plus scientific research and development, has made it possible not only to preserve the right to health of all citizens, without exception, but also to be in a better position to face the pandemic.
We have been able to do it in spite of the harsh restrictions of the long economic, commercial and financial blockade being imposed by the US government, which has been brutally tightened in the last two years, even at these pandemic times, something that shows it is the essential component of the hostile US Cuba policy.

The aggressiveness of the blockade has reached a qualitatively higher level that further asserts its role as the real and determining impediment to the managing of the economy and the development of our country. The US government has intensified in particular its harassment of Cuban financial transactions and, beginning in 2019, it has been adopting measures that violate international law to deprive the Cuban people of the possibility to buy fuels they need for their everyday activities and for their development.

So as to damage and demonize the Cuban Revolution and others it defines as adversaries, the US has been publishing spurious lists having no legitimacy by which it abrogates itself the right to impose unilateral coercive measures and unfounded qualifications on the world.

Every week, that government issues statements against Cuba or imposes new restrictions. Paradoxically, however, it has refused to term as terrorist the attack that was carried out against the Cuban embassy in Washington on April 30, 2020, when an individual armed with an assault rifle fired over 30 rounds against the diplomatic mission and later admitted to his intent to kill.

We denounce the double standards of the US government in the fight against terror and demand a public condemnation of that brutal attack.

We demand a cease of the hostility and slanderous campaign against the altruistic work by Cuba´s international medical cooperation that, with much prestige and verifiable results, has contributed to saving hundreds of lives and lowering the impact of the disease in many countries. Prominent international figures and highly prestigious social organizations have acknowledged the humanistic work done by the “Henry Reeve” International Medical Brigade for Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics and called for the Nobel Peace Prize to be given to them.

While the US government is ignoring the call to combine efforts to fight the pandemic and it withdraws from the WHO, Cuba, in response to requests made to it, and guided by the profound solidarity and humanistic vocation of its people, is expanding its cooperation by sending over 3 700 cooperation workers distributed in 46 medical brigades to 39 countries and territories hit by COVID-19.

In this sense, we condemn the gangster blackmailing by the US to pressure the Pan-American Health Organization so as to make that regional agency a tool for its morbid aggression against our country. As usual, the force of truth shall do away with lies, and facts and protagonists shall go down in history as they should. Cuba´s example shall prevail.

Our dedicated health workers, the pride of a nation brought up in José Marti’s idea that My Country Is Humanity, shall be awarded the prize their noble hearts deserve, or not; but it has been years since they won the recognition of the peoples blessed by their health work.

The US government is not hiding its intention to enforce new and harsher aggressive measures against Cuba in the next few months. We state once again before the international community that our people, who take pride in their history and are committed to the ideals and achievements of the Revolution, shall resist and overcome.

Mr. President,

The attempts at imposing neocolonial domination on Our America by publicly declaring the present value of the Monroe Doctrine contravene the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

We wish to restate publicly in this virtual forum that the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela shall always have the solidarity of Cuba in the face of attempts at destabilizing and subverting constitutional order and the civic-military unity and at destroying the work started by Commander Hugo Chávez Frías and continued by President Nicolás Maduro Moros to benefit the Venezuelan people.

We also reject US actions aimed at destabilizing the Republic of Nicaragua and ratify our invariable solidarity with its people and government led by Commander Daniel Ortega.

We state our solidarity with the Caribbean nations, which are demanding just reparations for the horrors of slavery and the slave trade, in a world where racial discrimination and the repression against Afro-descendant communities have been on the rise.

We reaffirm our historical commitment with the self-determination and independence of the sisterly people of Puerto Rico.

We support the legitimate claim by Argentina to its sovereignty over the Malvinas, the South Sandwich and South Georgia islands.

We reiterate our commitment with peace in Colombia and the conviction that dialogue between the parties is the road to achieving stable and lasting peace in that country.

We support the search for a peaceful and negotiated solution to the situation imposed on Syria, with no foreign interference and in full respect of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

We demand a just solution to the conflict in the Middle East, which must include the real exercise by the Palestinian people of the inalienable right to build their own State within the borders prior to 1967 and with East Jerusalem as its capital. We reject Israel´s attempts to annex more territories in the West Bank.

We state our solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the face of US aggressive escalation.

We reaffirm our invariable solidarity with the Sahrawi people.

We strongly condemn the unilateral and unjust sanctions against the Democratic People´s Republic of Korea.

We restate our rejection of the intention to expand NATO´s presence to the Russian borders and the imposition of unilateral and unjust sanctions against Russia.

We reject foreign interference into the internal affairs of the Republic of Belarus and reiterate our solidarity with the legitimate president of that country, Aleksandr Lukashenko, and the sisterly people of Belarus.

We condemn the interference into the internal affairs of the People´s Republic of China and oppose any attempt to harm its territorial integrity and its sovereignty.

Mr. President,

Today´s disturbing circumstances have led to the fact that, for the first time in the 75-year-long history of the United Nations, we have had to meet in a non- presential format.

Cuba´s scientific community, another source of pride for the nation that, since the triumph of the Revolution of the just, announced to the world its intention to be a country of men and women of science, is working non-stop on one of the first vaccines that are going through clinical trials in the world.

Its creators and other researchers and experts, in coordination with the health system, are writing protocols on healthcare for infected persons, recovered patients and the risk population that have allowed us to keep epidemic statistics of around 80% of infected persons saved and a mortality rate below the average in the Americas and the world.

“Doctors and not bombs.” That was announced one day by the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution and chief sponsor of scientific development in Cuba: Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz. That´s our motto. Saving lives and sharing what we are and have, no matter any sacrifice it takes; that is what we are offering to the world from the United Nations, to which we only request to be attuned with the gravity of the present time.
We are Cuba.

Let us strive together to promote peace, solidarity and development.

Thank you very much.

Author: Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez | internet@granma.cu

june 26, 2020 14:06:17
Photo: MINREX

Havana, June 26, 2020

Year 62 of the Revolution

Your Excellency Mr. Antonio Gutérres

United Nations Secretary-General New York

Your Excellency:

Seventy-five years after the member states of this organization signed the United Nations Charter, strict adherence to its purposes and principles, to international law and the preservation of multilateralism are more important than ever.

We are facing multiple crises as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with devastating effects, visible in all spheres of society, expected to last and aggravate pending global challenges.

The international panorama is increasingly complex. Conflicts and the arms race are proliferating. Non-conventional wars for the purpose of domination, acts of aggression, unilateral coercive measures, the manipulation and politicization of human rights and disrespect for the self-determination of peoples are intensifying. Multilateralism is attacked, international agreements ignored and the role of organizations such as the UN and the World Health Organization is discounted.

At the same time, the current unjust international economic order deepens inequality and underdevelopment; while increasing poverty, hunger, marginalization and limited access to essential services, such as health care.

The moment and common sense demand that the international community set aside political differences and seek joint solutions to global problems through international cooperation.

It is the duty of all to keep the commitments we made when we signed the UN Charter, which continues to be an enduring, universal and indispensable basis for promoting a just, democratic and equitable international order that responds to the demands of the peoples of the world for peace, development and justice, and contributes to meeting the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

I take advantage of the opportunity to reiterate, to your Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration and esteem.

Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez

President of the Republic of Cuba

“I should like to explain very briefly why the Cuban delegation feels bound to vote against the plan for the partition of Palestine recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee,” stated Dr. Ernesto Dihigo, in November that year, at the second session of the UN General Assembly. (Following January 1, 1959, Dr. Dihigo continued to practice revolutionary diplomacy, and joined the Cuban Academy of Language).

The dignified position of our country in that forum saw the denunciation of the United Kingdom’s violation of international law through the Balfour Declaration, and the plan to grant a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestinian territory.

“The Balfour Declaration, in our opinion, is not legally valid because in it the British Government was offering something which did not belong to it and which it had no right to give,” Dihigo stressed.

The Partition Plan for Palestine was later adopted by the UN General Assembly as Resolution 181, giving rise to the creation of the State of Israel.

The action by the United Nations, perhaps the most controversial in its history, unleashed the first Arab-Israeli War and gave rise to one of the longest and deadliest conflicts in the Middle East, which continues to this day.

The triumph of the Cuban Revolution ended the ambiguities of the island’s neo-Republican governments and their submission to the interests of the United States, the main Zionist ally.

“No more brutal dispossession of the rights to peace and existence of a people has been committed in this century,” stated leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, in summarizing the Cuban position on the Palestinian cause, in a speech delivered at the opening session of the 6th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, September 3, 1979.

“We repudiate with all our strength the ruthless persecution and genocide that in its time Nazism unleashed against the Hebrew people. But I cannot recall anything more similar in our contemporary history than the eviction, persecution, and genocide being carried out today by imperialism and Zionism against the Palestinian people,” he added.

Cuba’s revolutionary diplomacy maintains its unlimited support for the search for a comprehensive, just, and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the creation of two states.

Cuba also believes that a solution to this long-standing conflict would help to reduce tensions in the region, where the United States promotes war to guarantee its geopolitical interests.

“A fair and lasting solution in the Middle East conflict unquestionably requires the true exercise, by the Palestinian people, of their inalienable right to build their own state within the borders existing prior to 1967, and its capital in East Jerusalem, which we strongly support, “ Army General Raúl Castro stated at the UN in September 2015.

Cuba has also denounced that it is unacceptable for the Security Council to be held hostage by the veto, or the threat of veto, by the United States, preventing the organization from fulfilling its mandate and protecting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, and sanctioning Israel for its constant violations of human rights.

In December 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) expressed its deep concern and condemnation of the unilateral declaration by the President of the United States recognizing the city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

It was noted that the measure constituted “a serious and flagrant violation of the UN Charter, of International Law, and of the relevant United Nations resolutions.”

MINREX warned that the decision by the Donald Trump administration “will have grave consequences for the stability and the security of the Middle East, will further increase tensions in this region, and hamper any efforts directed toward re-starting peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.”

(Granma)

The meeting was held in a respectful atmosphere.

Rodríguez reiterated the condolences of the Cuban people and government following the damages caused by hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the U.S., and expressed gratitude for the condolences offered by the State Department to the island for the damages caused by Hurricane Irma.

The main purpose of the meeting was to address the alleged incidents regarding the unexplained hearing loss of U.S. accredited diplomats in Havana.

Cuba’s Foreign Minister reiterated the seriousness, speed and professionalism with which Cuban authorities have responded to these claims. A priority investigation was initiated following orders from the highest level of the Cuban government from the very moment they were informed of the events, and additional measures were taken to protect U.S. diplomats and their families. This has been recognized by representatives of U.S. specialized agencies, who have traveled to Cuba since June, and whose visits have been positively assessed by their Cuban counterparts.

Rodríguez stressed to Secretary Tillerson the importance of U.S. authorities effectively cooperating with Cuban authorities in order to clarify details regarding the claims, which are unprecedented in Cuba.

He reiterated that the decision of the U.S. government to withdraw two Cuban diplomats from Washington and the argument used to do so were unjustified, and emphasized that Cuba is strictly complying with its obligations under the Vienna Convention on the protection of the integrity of diplomats, in which the island has an impeccable record.

Rodríguez reiterated that the Cuban government has never, nor will it ever, perpetrate attacks of any kind against diplomats. Nor has it allowed, or will it allow, its territory to be used by third parties for this purpose.

He also informed Tillerson that according to the preliminary results of the investigation conducted by Cuban authorities, which took into account data provided by U.S. authorities, no evidence has yet been found regarding the causes and origin of the health conditions reported by the U.S. diplomats.

The Minister assured that the investigation to clarify this matter is still ongoing, and that Cuba has great interest in its conclusion, for which the efficient cooperation of U.S. authorities is essential. He stressed that it would be unfortunate if a case of this nature were politicized, resulting in hasty decisions unsupported by conclusive evidence and investigative results.

Rodríguez also confirmed the will of Cuba to continue the bilateral dialogue with the U.S. on issues of common interest, based on respect and sovereign equality, despite the profound differences that exist between the two countries.

(Granma)

Author: Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla | internet@granma.cu

september 22, 2017 16:09:30
Photo: Cubaminrex

STATEMENT BY H.E. Mr. BRUNO RODRÍGUEZ PARRILLA, MINISTER OF

FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA, AT THE SEVENTY SECOND SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY. NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 22, 2017.

Mr. President:

Mr. Secretary General;

Allow me to reiterate to you Cuba’s, support to your work at the helm of the United Nations and as a guarantor and advocate of international peace.

Heads of State and Government;

Distinguished delegates;

I would like to express my deep condolences to the relatives of the deceased and the victims of hurricanes Irma and Maria, as well as our disposition to increase our cooperation, to the extent of our modest possibilities, with the brother peoples and governments of Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, small Caribbean islands which suffered a terrible devastation; with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Virgin Islands and Anguilla.

I call upon the international community to give the highest priority to this situation and mobilize resources to assist the small Caribbean Island States and territories which have suffered such devastation.

We would like to convey Cuba’s warmest feelings of solidarity to the government and people of Mexico, particularly to the victims and their relatives, who were affected by both earthquakes, and reiterate to them our disposition to assist the population and support the recovery works with our modest efforts.

We also want to express our sorrow to the U.S. people, as well as our heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the deceased and to all of the victims of hurricane

Mr. President:

I want to convey the testimony of the people of Cuba, who are currently carrying out a colossal effort to recover from the severe damages caused by hurricane Irma to housing, agriculture, the power system and other services. Despite the all encompassing preventive measures – which included the evacuation of more than 1.7 million persons- and the full cooperation of all citizens, we suffered the loss of ten persons.

The painful damages to services as well as the loss of social and personal goods as well as the hardships endured by families that spent many hours without electricity or water, contributed to strengthen the unity and solidarity of our noble and heroic people.

The moving scenes of rescuers saving a girl and giving her back to her mother; of a little boy picking up a bust of Jose Marti from the rubble; of students helping families they had not met before; of soldiers from the Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior doing the toughest jobs; of local leaders heading the most difficult tasks have become all too familiar.

During a visit paid to the area that suffered the most severe devastation. President Raúl Castro issued an appeal which literally read, and I quote: “These have been tough days for our people who, in only a few hours, have seen how what was built with great effort has been destroyed by a devastating hurricane. The images received during the last few hours are too eloquent, just as much as the spirit of resilience and victory of our people that are reborn in the face of every adversity.”

On behalf of the government and the people of Cuba, I sincerely appreciate the genuine expressions of solidarity and affection expressed by numerous governments, parliaments, international organizations and representatives of the civil society.

I would like to convey my profound gratitude for the numerous offers of assistance that we have received.

Mr. President:

I still keep vivid and emotional memories of the imposing presence of Fidel Castro Ruz, the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution, and the great validity of the ideas he expressed before this Assembly.

On behalf of our people and government, I would like to express our gratitude for the feelings of respect, affection and admiration we have received from all latitudes.

Mr. President:

On Tuesday last, President Donald Trump came here to convince us that one of his purposes is to promote the prosperity of nations and persons. But, in the real world, the wealth owned by eight men altogether is equivalent to the wealth shared by 3.6 billion human beings, who make up the poorest half of humanity.

In terms of turnover, 69 of the 100 biggest entities of the world are transnationals, not States. The turnover of the world’s ten biggest corporations is higher than the public revenues earned by 180 countries combined.

Seven hundred million persons live in extreme poverty; 21 million are victims of forced labor. In 2015, 5.9 million children died of preventable or curable diseases before reaching the age of 5. A total of 758 million adults are illiterate.

Eight hundred and fifteen million persons suffer from chronic hunger -tens of millions more than in 2015. Two billion are undernourished. Even if the precarious decreasing growth rate of recent years rebounds, 653 million persons will continue to face hunger by the year 2030, and this will not be enough to eradicate hunger by the year 2050.

There are 22.5 million refugees. Humanitarian tragedies associated to migrants flows worsen and increase amidst a clearly unjust international economic and political order.

The construction of walls and barriers as well as the laws and measures adopted to prevent the waves of refugees and migrants have proved to be cruel and ineffective. There is a proliferation of exclusive and xenophobic policies that violate the human rights of millions of persons and fail to solve the problems of underdevelopment, poverty and armed conflicts, which are the main causes of migration and refugee claims.

Military expenditures have increased to 1.7 trillion dollars. That reality belies those who claim that there are not enough resources to eradicate poverty.

However, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development lacks the means for its implementation, due to the egoism and lack of political will of the United States and other industrialized countries.

What is the miraculous recipe that President Donald Trump recommends to us in the absence of the financial flows of the Marshall Plan? Who will contribute the resources for that? How can this be reconciled with the “America First” idea advanced by Presidents Reagan and Trump?

President Trump ignores and distorts history and portraits a chimera as a goal to be pursued. The production and consumption patterns proper of neoliberal capitalism are unsustainable and irrational and will inexorably lead to the destruction of the environment and the end of the human species.

Can anyone forget about the consequences of colonialism, slavery, neocolonialism and imperialism?

Could the several decades of bloody military dictatorships in Latin America be referred to as an example of a successful capitalism? Does anyone know of any recipe of neoliberal capitalism that has been better applied than those which destroyed the Latin American economies in the 1980s?

It is both indispensable and urgent for the United Nations to work in order to establish a new participatory, democratic, equitable and inclusive international economic order, as well as a new financial architecture that take into account the needs and peculiarities of developing countries and the asymmetries that exist in world trade and finances as a result of centuries of exploitation and plundering.

Industrialized countries have the moral duty, the historical responsibility as well as sufficient financial and technological means for that.

Not even the rich will enjoy the announced prosperity if climate change is not stopped.

Cuba regrets the decision taken by the government of the United States, which has been historically the principal greenhouse gas emitting government in the planet, to withdraw its country from the Paris Agreement.

In 2016, and for the third consecutive year, the average global temperature increase records have been broken, which confirms that climate change is a threat to the survival of humanity and the sustainable development of our peoples.

We reiterate our solidarity with the Small Island Developing States, particularly from the Caribbean and the Pacific, which are the most affected by climate change and for which we claim a just, special and differentiated treatment.

Mr. President:

The U.S. government has come here to tell us that, in addition to prosperity, the other two “beautiful pillars” of international order are sovereignty and security.

We all share the common responsibility to preserve the existence of human beings in the face of a nuclear threat. An important contribution to the achievement of that goal was the historical adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear

Weapons under the auspices of the United Nations, which proscribe the use and the threat of use of those weapons that have the capacity to annihilate the human species.

Obviously, the United States strongly opposed this treaty. It announced that it will invest 700 billion dollars in military expenditures and is developing an extremely aggressive nuclear and military doctrine based on the threat to use and the use of force.

NATO member States attempt against international peace and security and International Law by promoting military interventions and non-conventional wars against sovereign States.

As was pointed out by the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz: “Let the philosophy of plunder disappear and the philosophy of war will also disappear!”

The illegal imposition of unilateral coercive measures and the use of financial, legal, cultural and communicational instruments to destabilize governments as well as the denial of peoples’ right to self-determination have become customary.

The covert use of ICTs to attack other States increases, while several developed countries strongly oppose the adoption of international treaties that would regulate cooperation in order to achieve a safe cyberspace.

The U.S. President manipulates the concepts of sovereignty and security to his exclusive benefit and to the detriment of all others, including his allies.

The attempt to resort to military threats and force to stop the irreversible world trend to multi-polarization and polycentrism will seriously jeopardize international peace and security, which should be defended and preserved through international mobilization.

The principles of sovereign equality, respect for the territorial integrity and non interference in the internal affairs of States should be observed. The UN Charter and International Law admit no re-interpretation.

The United Nations reform should pursue the principal goal of responding to the pressing needs of peoples and the great disadvantaged majorities. Multilateralism should be protected and reinforced in the face of the imperialist interests of domination and hegemony.

The democratization of the Security Council, both in terms of its composition and its working methods, is a most urgent task.

The strengthening of the General Assembly and the recovery of the functions that have been usurped from it are indispensable.

Mr. President:

The “patriotism” invoked in the U.S. statement is a perversion of humanism, the love and loyalty to the homeland and of the enrichment and defense of national and universal culture. It embodies an exceptionalist and supremacist vision of ignorant intolerance in the face of diverse political, economic, social and cultural models.

In developed countries, the loss of legitimacy of political systems and parties worsens and electoral abstentionism is on the rise. Corruption, whether legal or illegal, has turned into metastasis. So is the extreme case of the so called “special interests” or corporate payments in exchange for benefits in the country that spends the highest amount of money in electoral campaigns and where, paradoxically, a candidate with the lowest number of popular votes can be elected or entitled to govern with a negligible support by voters.

There has been and increasing and unheard-of use of science and technology to exercise hegemony, mutilate national cultures and manipulate human behavior, as is the case of the so called “big data” or psychometry, used for political and advertising purposes. Seven consortia keep a strict control of whatever is read, watched or heard in the planet. Technologies are being monopolized. The governance of digital networks is dictatorial and discriminatory and, despite appearances, the digital divide between rich and poor countries is increasing.

The opportunities and rights of youths, migrants and workers are curtailed and their human rights are openly and systematically violated.

The day before yesterday, the U.S. Vice-president, Michael Pence, ridiculously ignoring the functions of the Security Council and attempting to establish new prerogatives, said that this organ should modify the composition and methods of the UN Human Rights Council, which “doesn’t deserve its name” because “a clear majority of the Human Rights Council members fail to meet even the most basic human rights standards”. I suppose he is not including, in this case, his own country, which will in fact deserve to be included because of its pattern of systematic violations of human rights, namely the use of torture, arbitrary detentions and imprisonment -as occurs at the Guantanamo Naval Base-, the assassination of African Americans by law enforcement agents, the killing of innocent civilians perpetrated by its troops and the xenophobia and repression against immigrants -including minors- as well as its scarce adherence to international instruments.

Mr. President:

We reaffirm our strongest condemnation against all forms and manifestations of terrorism and reject the double standards in combating them.

The urgent search for a just and lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East is based on the exercise of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the existence of a free and independent State within the pre-1967 borders, with Eastern Jerusalem as its capital.

The situation in Western Sahara requires an effort in conformity with the UN resolutions to guarantee the Saharan people’s exercise to self-determination and respect for their legitimate right to live in peace in their own territory.

Cuba reaffirms its support to the search for a peaceful and negotiated solution to the war in Syria without any foreign interference and with full respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The threats to international peace and security resulting from the expansion of NATO’s presence along the Russian borders are on the increase. We continue to reject the unilateral and unjust sanctions imposed against that country.

We demand respect for the so called Nuclear Agreement signed with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

We reject the threat to totally destroy the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the home to 25 million human beings. War is not an option in the Korean peninsula; it would threaten the existence of hundreds of millions of persons in this area as well as in neighboring countries; it would lead to a nuclear war of unpredictable consequences. Only through dialogue and negotiation would it be possible to achieve a lasting political solution that should take into account the legitimate concerns of all the parties involved. We support the total denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, without any foreign interference, with absolute respect for sovereign equality and territorial integrity of States and strictly abiding by the principle of not using or threatening to use force.

Mr. President:

New threats are hovering over peace and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean, in open disrespect for the “Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace” signed in Havana by the Heads of State and Government of our region in January, 2014, on the occasion of the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

We reiterate what was expressed by President Raul Castro Ruz about the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on July 14 last:

“The aggression and putschist violence against Venezuela harms all of Our America and only serve the interests of those set on dividing us to exercise their control over our peoples, unconcerned about causing conflicts of incalculable consequences in this region, like those we are seeing in different parts of the world.

“Today we warn that those attempting to overthrow the Bolivarian and Chavista

Revolution through unconstitutional, violent and putschist methods will shoulder a serious responsibility before history.

We strongly reject the military threats against Venezuela, the Executive Order that designates it as a threat to the national security of the United States and the unilateral, unjust and arbitrary sanctions applied against it.

We reiterate our unwavering solidarity with the Bolivarian and Chavista government and people and its civic-military union led by the constitutional President Nicolas Maduro Moros.

We denounce and condemn the NICA Act Initiative, promoted in the U.S. Congress as part of an interventionist behavior which is intended to impose an economic blockade against the people and the government of Nicaragua, to whom we reiterate our support.

We express our solidarity with former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, victim of a political persecution intended to prevent him from running for direct elections by means of a judicial disqualification. Lula, President Dilma Rousseff, the Workers*

Party and the Brazilian people will always find Cuba on their side.

We reiterate our historical commitment with the free determination and independence of the Puerto Rican people.

We support the legitimate claim of Argentina for the sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.

Cuba will continue to contribute, to the extent possible, and at the request of the parties involved, its efforts to achieve a stable and lasting peace in Colombia.

We will uphold our commitment to share our modest achievements with the peoples of the South, including the efforts of the 41 652 cooperation workers deployed in 63 countries to struggle for the life and health of human beings.

Mr. President:

On June 16 last, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced the new Cuba policy of his administration, which is a setback in U.S.-Cuba bilateral relations and undermines the bases established two years ago to advance towards a new type of relation between our countries, characterized by respect and equality.

The U.S. Government has decided to tighten the economic, commercial and financial blockade by imposing new obstacles to the already limited possibilities its business community had to trade with and invest in Cuba as well as additional restrictions on U.S. citizens willing to travel to our country.

Those decisions ignore the support from broad sectors in the U.S., including the majority of Cuban émigrés, to the lifting of the blockade and the normalization of relations. They only serve the interests of a group of Cuban origin, based in South

Florida, which is an ever more isolated and minoritarian group that insists in harming Cuba and its people for having decided to defend, at all costs, the right to be free, independent and sovereign. Today we reiterate our condemnation of the measures aimed at tightening the blockade and reaffirm that any strategy intended to destroy the Revolution will fail.

Likewise, we reject the manipulation of the human rights issue against Cuba, which has a lot to be proud of and has no need to receive lessons from the United States or anyone.

This time we would like to express our strongest condemnation of the disrespectful, offensive and interventionist statement against Cuba and the Cuban government, made three days ago at this rostrum by President Donald Trump. We remind him that the United States, where flagrant human rights violations are committed, which raise deep concern among the international community, has no moral authority to judge my country. We reaffirm that Cuba will never accept any preconditions or impositions, nor will it ever renounce any of its principles.

Regarding the alleged incidents that would have affected U.S. diplomatic officials in

Havana we categorically affirm that the Cuban government rigorously and seriously abides by its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in relation to the protection and the integrity of all diplomats without any exception, including those from the United States. Cuba has never perpetrated nor will it ever perpetrate actions of this sort. Cuba has never allowed nor will it ever allow its territory to be used by third parties with that purpose.

The Cuban authorities, based on the preliminary results of the priority investigation that is being carried out with a high technical component, following instructions from the top level of our government, has taken into account the data contributed by the U.S. authorities and so far has found no evidence whatsoever that could confirm the causes or the origin of the health disorders referred to by U.S. diplomats and their relatives. The investigation to clarify this issue continues, and in order to be able to arrive to a conclusion, it will be crucial to count on the cooperation of the U.S. authorities. It would be unfortunate if a matter of this nature is politicized.

As was expressed by the Cuban President Raul Castro Ruz, Cuba is willing to continue negotiating all pending bilateral issues with the United States, on the basis of equality and absolute respect for the sovereignty and independence of our country; and maintaining a respectful dialogue and cooperation in areas of common interest with the U.S. government.

Cuba and the United States can cooperate and coexist, respecting their differences and promoting everything that benefits both countries and peoples, but no one should expect Cuba to make concessions that affect its sovereignty and independence.

Mr. President:

The Cuban people will not cease in their legitimate claim for the lifting and total elimination of the economic, commercial and financial blockade and will continue to denounce the strengthening of that policy. On November Cuba will once again present to the United Nations General Assembly the draft Resolution entitled

“Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.” While inequality, the opulence of a few and the marginalization of many are growing in today’s world, the Cuban people will keep up its struggle to achieve the most just society possible. We will continue to steadily advance down the path of revolutionary transformations that has been sovereignly chosen by all Cubans to further improve our socialism.

Thank you, very much.

According to PL, Bolivian President Evo Morales described the blockade, in force for over 55 years, as an unjust and failed policy, adding that the U.S. must not only lift it, but also compensate Cuba for the damages caused its people, and return the territory illegally occupied by the Guantánamo Naval Base.

Meanwhile, President of Costa Rica Luis Guillermo Solís, also harshly criticized the high social, human and economic cost of Washington’s sanctions on the Cuban people.

According to Solís, the aggressive unilateral economic policy is ineffective and constitutes a serious violation of the Cuban peoples’ right to wellbeing and development.

On the second day of the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly, held September 20, Guyanese President David Granger, demanded an immediate end to the hostile policy which constitutes an obstacle to Cuba’s development.

Meanwhile, President of Panama Juan Carlos Varela, recalled the historic meeting which took place between the presidents of the United States and Cuba during the 2015 Summit of the Americas, held in his country.

In this sense, he called to continue supporting dialogue, social peace and unity looking toward the next Summit to be held in Lima, Peru.

(Granma)

The island’s representative Luis Alberto Amorós noted that in order to analyze the issue in depth, it is important to address the causes which lead millions of people to migrate every year, sometimes risking their lives, in search of greater well-being.

“The many problems associated with migration, such as the exponential increase in migrants to industrialized nations, the brain-drain on developing countries, and exacerbation of shameful discrimination and abuses against migrants can only be tackled by attacking the structural causes of the phenomenon,” he stated.

During the meeting on the human rights of migrants, Amorós stressed the need to substantially modify the unjust and exclusionary international economic order, in order to target the root cause of the phenomena.

He added that “A genuine commitment is needed from the major industrial nations, characterized by peace and international security, while they must also abandon their hegemonic interests which produce situations of instability.”

In this sense the Cuban representative noted that international cooperation must be directed toward dialogue and genuine collaboration, which acknowledges the shared responsibility of all states regarding migration, and respects the sovereignty and equality of all countries.
“This cooperation must obviously ensure the integrity, dignity and well-being of migrants,” he stated.

(Prensa Latina)

On February 13, speaking before the organization’s Security Council, Cuba called for a multilateral, combined response to terrorism, that moves away from unilateral actions and double standards.

In an open debate between the 15 members of the body regarding terrorist threats to civil infrastructure, Cuba’s permanent representative to the UN, Anayansi Rodríguez noted that Havana supports the adoption of a general agreement on this scourge and the holding of a global conference to work toward these types of responses.

“We reject and condemn double standards and selective treatment regarding this issue. The fight against terrorism cannot be used as a pretext for intervention and interference, aggression, or international and human rights violations,” she stated before the forum.

The Cuban diplomat also demanded an end to the financing, arming, and training of all extremist groups which spread violence and destruction across the world.

Rodríguez went on to reaffirm the island’s commitment to combating terrorism, recalling that the Cuban people have also been the victims of terrorist acts organized, funded and executed from abroad; leaving almost 3,500 people dead and over 2,000 handicapped.

She also stressed that the Caribbean nation has never, nor will it ever, allow its territory to be used to carry out, plan, support, conceal, or finance such actions against any other country.

Regarding the immediate challenges of this scourge, such as the use of new information and communication technologies by terrorists, Rodríguez called on all countries to make concerted efforts toward combating the problem.

It is vital to create a legally binding international instrument, within the United Nations system, able to regulate and ensure that information and communication technologies are used in accordance with International Law, and especially the UN Charter, she noted.

Unanimously adopted during the debate was Resolution 2341, which aims to strengthen prevention mechanisms and reduce the impact of terrorist attacks on important works of civil infrastructure.

Attendees also expressed their concern over attacks by the Islamic State, Boko Haram, Al Qaeda, Al Shabaab, and the Al Nusra Front, on hospitals, schools, transport networks, and basic public service facilities, including energy and water.

(Granma)

Speaking before the forum in Geneva, the island’s permanent representative, Anayansi Rodrí­guez, recalled that despite having adopted the Durban Action Plan relating to the issue, racist and xenophobic practices still exist, which affect people across the planet, reported Prensa Latina.

“We are witnessing with concern how political parties and associations with an anti-immigrant, xenophobic and racist character are growing in developed countries,” she noted.

Millions of migrants are abused, discriminated against and marginalized every day in developed societies, while minorities such as the Romany and Travelers continue to receive humiliating treatment, added Rodrí­guez.

The island’s permanent representative also described the multiple cases in which the police have used lethal force against minorities and people of African descent as alarming.

Given this situation, Cuba has offered, and continues to offer, its solidary support to help ensure that the basic human rights of excluded sectors in various countries are respected, she noted.

Likewise, the Cuban official highlighted the importance of international cooperation toward achieving such aims as “the majority of victims and persons exposed to these practices belong to historically marginalized groups, including people of African descent, indigenous communities, women, migrants and ethnic minorities.”

The 33rd regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva is taking place September 13-30.

(Prensa Latina)