Your Excellency Mr. Chairman;

Your Excellencies Permanent Representatives;

Delegates;

In 2020, Cuba, like the rest of the world, was faced with the singular challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The US Administration took on the virus as an ally in its merciless non-conventional war; it deliberately and opportunistically stepped up the economic, commercial and financial blockade, bringing about losses for the country in the amount of around 5 billion dollars.

President Donald Trump implemented 243 unilateral coercive measures to restrict the visit of American travellers and harm third tourist markets; adopted wartime measures to deprive us from fuel supplies; hounded the health services we provide in many countries; increased harassment against commercial and financial transactions in other markets, and set its mind to intimidate foreign investors and commercial entities with the application of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.

It also prevented regular and institutional flow of remittances to Cuban families; deal a harsh blow to the self-employed or private sector, and hindered relations with Cubans living in the United States and family reunification.

All these measures are very much in place and implemented today and, paradoxically, are shaping the conduct of the current US Administration precisely during the months in which Cuba has experienced the highest infection rates, the highest death toll, and a higher economic cost associated with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The campaign platform of the Democratic Party promised voters a speedy reversal of the actions taken by Donald Trump’s Administration, particularly the removal of restrictions regarding travel and remittances to Cuba and compliance with the bilateral migratory agreements, including the granting of visas.

Evidence shows that a large majority of Americans support the lifting of the blockade and their freedom to travel to the island, and that Cubans living in this country want normal relations and wellbeing for their families.

Some blame this baneful inertia on the electoral ambitions associated with Florida or on far-from-transparent balances of political and legislative elites in Washington.

What do those who voted for President Joseph Biden think about what is going on?

Mr. Chairman;

The human damage caused by the blockade cannot be measured. No Cuban family is spared from the effects of this inhuman policy. Nobody could honestly state that it has no actual impact on the population.

In the health field, impossibility to access equipment, technology, devices, treatments and ideal drugs that cannot be procured from US companies and must be obtained at skyrocketing prices through intermediaries or replaced by less effective generic drugs, even for sick newly born and children, persists.

But now, the sly blow to our finances and Covid-19- related expenses, which amount to 2 billion pesos and 300 million dollars, also cause shortages or lack of medicaments for use in hospitals that make the difference between life and death, as well as difficulties for persons to buy in time the insulin, antibiotics, pain killers, and drugs for blood pressure, allergy and other chronic disease treatments.

Cuba sought to protect everyone against the virus; it activated its sound and universal health system; relied on the dedication, willingness to sacrifice and high qualification of its personnel; mobilized its scientists and its world class biopharmaceutical industry, and harnessed the unambiguous support and consensus of the people, particularly of the youth and students, who volunteered to work in the red zones and on epidemiological screening.

That was why we succeeded in developing highly effective domestic protocols to treat both Covid-19 confirmed and under investigation cases; creating conditions to hospitalize all confirmed cases; ensuring the sustainability of intensive care services, institutional isolation of contacts of confirmed cases and free access to PCR or antigen tests; as well as commissioning molecular biology labs in all provinces of the country.

When the blockade cruelly prevented the supply of lung ventilators, Cuba developed its domestic production with its own prototypes.

All this effort by the nation has enabled us to maintain a comparatively low case fatality rate throughout the pandemic, particularly among our health personnel, infants, children, and pregnant women.

It is remarkable that a small island subjected to a blockade has been able to produce 5 vaccine candidates and apply 3 of them −in intervention studies or sanitary interventions− to 2,244,350 Cubans with at least one shot and plans to immunize 70% of the population during this summer and the whole population before the end of the year, despite the fact that the blockade is seriously hampering the industrial scale-up of vaccine production.

This illustrates the results of putting science to the service of the people as well as the effectiveness of civil service.

When the slanderous campaign of the US Administration against our medical cooperation was intensified amidst the pandemic, Cuba sent 57 specialized brigades of the “Henry Reeve International Contingent” to 40 countries or territories, in addition to the over 28,000 health professionals already providing services in 59 nations.

The blockade also deprives the national industry of the funds to procure required inputs for the production of food −causing a drop in pork production− and other goods.

Food imports from the United States are under strict licenses and discriminatory conditions. Their small levels, on the other hand, do not compare to the enormous toll exacted on our finances by the blockade and the effects of its extraterritorial application in third markets.

I bear witness to the suffering and distress that shortage of and instability in the supply of essential and basic goods causes in Cuban households, visible in the long lines that weigh down Cubans every day amidst the pandemic.

The measures to step up the blockade amidst the pandemic and under the global economic crisis also have a decisive impact on the shortage of supplies in stores, inflation or soaring prices, despite the strenuous efforts of the government.

As Army General Raul Castro stated last April 16, and I quote: “the damage caused by these measures to the living standards of the population is not accidental or the result of collateral effects; it is the result of a deliberate purpose to punish the Cuban people as a whole”, end of quote.

The blockade is a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of the Cuban people as a whole that, pursuant to Article II c) of the Geneva Convention of 1948, constitutes an act of genocide.

Mr. Chairman;

US authorities have cynically tried to plant the idea of the failure of our system and the ineffectiveness of the Cuban government; that the coercive measures do not affect the people nor are actually a significant factor for the difficulties faced by the domestic economy.

But let us review the data. From April 2019 to December 2020, the damages caused by the blockade amounted to over 9.1 billion dollars at current prices, an average of 436 million dollars per month. During the last five years, losses due to the blockade exceeded the amount of 17 billion dollars. At current prices, the accumulated damages in six decades amount to over 147.8 billion dollars, and against the price of gold, it amounts to over 1.3 trillion dollars.

Last June 10, our banking and financial system was compelled to temporarily suspend the acceptance of cash deposits in US dollars. This is an inevitable measure in the wake of the obstacles created by the blockade to dispose of or give use value to that currency, a step we would have wanted to avoid but could not be put off any longer.

This is an extraterritorial economic war against a small country, already affected by the recession and global economic crisis caused by the pandemic that has deprived us of much needed revenues, as the ones derived from tourism.

As President Miguel Diaz-Canel stated on April 19, and I quote: “nobody with an ounce of honesty and publicly available economic data can disregard the fact that this siege is the main obstacle to the country’s development and in our quest for prosperity and wellbeing”, end of quote.

I wonder what would happen in other economies, including those of rich countries, if subjected to similar conditions. What would be the social and political repercussions?

Mr. Chairman;

The blockade is a politically motivated act, clearly described in the infamous memorandum of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Lester Mallory, dated April 6, 1960, and I quote:

“Any conceivable means must be promptly used to undermine Cuba’s economic life (…) deny money and supplies to Cuba, in order to decrease the real and monetary wages with a view to causing hunger, despair and the toppling of the Government”, end of quote.

It is maliciously complemented by a fierce campaign of political interference in the internal affairs with subversive programs to which the US Administration allocates every year tens of millions of dollars from the federal budget and additional amounts from covert funds. The purpose is to create political and social instability amidst the economic difficulties created by the same US Administration.

They reckon that if they subject the Cuban population to hardships and promote artificial leaders who incite to chaos and instability, they could create a virtual political movement in digital networks to be later transposed into the real world.

They invest considerable resources, social labs and high-tech tools in a frenzied campaign aimed at discrediting Cuba with shameless lies and the manipulation of information. They unleash a renewed McCarthyism, ideological intolerance and brutal attack against those who uphold the truth.

Some even dream about provoking social chaos, disorder, violence and death in Cuba. It is no surprise, since this is a political weapon already used against other countries with fatal consequences.

A few rave about provoking an irregular and uncontrolled migratory flow from Cuba to the United States. This is a dangerous bet about which we have warned the US government, who has the legal and moral obligation to honor the migratory agreements, particularly regarding the granting of visas. This is a sensitive issue that costs lives.

Mr. Chairman;

The States here represented are a victim of the extraterritorial effect of the blockade that infringes upon their sovereignty, violates their domestic legislations, subjects them to US Court rulings and are detrimental to the interests of their companies wishing to maintain relations with both countries, all of which is contrary to International Law.

It is neither legal nor ethical for the government of a power to wage an endless economic war against a small nation, for decades, in order to impose an alien political system and a government design by it. Depriving the population of an entire nation of its right to peace, development, wellbeing and human progress is unacceptable.

The fact that the US government has ignored for 28 years the successive resolutions of this democratic and representative United Nations General Assembly is unacceptable and inadmissible.

In September 2000, Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro pointed out at this very rostrum, and I quote: “it is high time to strongly state that the principle of sovereignty cannot be sacrificed for the sake of an unjust and exploiting order in which an hegemonic superpower can decide everything on the basis of its power and strength”, end of quote.

Cuba’s claim is to be let to live in peace, without blockade and to stop the persecution of our commercial and financial relations with the rest of the world.

We demand an end to manipulations, discrimination, and to the obstacles that hinder relations between Cubans living in the United States and their relatives in Cuba and with the country where they were born. We acknowledge the efforts of those who, in this time of trial, have maintained their communication with and support to their families in the island in the wake of hate and political persecution.

Many pragmatically argue –even within the US Administration− that the blockade should be ended because it is an ineffective and anachronistic policy that has not and will not achieve its purpose and has ended discrediting and isolating the United States.

Manipulating the fight against terrorism for political and electoral purposes is also unacceptable.

On January this year, 9 days before the current administration took office, President Trump’s administration included Cuba in an arbitrary and unilateral list of States that allegedly sponsor international terrorism and which has serious consequences in the global financial system.

Nobody can honestly argue that Cuba is a country sponsoring terrorism! Nobody! Recent disclosures ridiculed the latest pretext.

Nonetheless, last May 14, the State Department once again classified Cuba as a country that does not cooperate enough with US counter-terrorism efforts, just like it did in 2020 during the previous Administration.

Cuba has been the victim of terrorist actions organized, financed and executed by the US government or from the territory of this country, which have taken the lives of 3,478 Cubans and caused disabilities to another 2,099. There is overwhelming evidence of our attempts to cooperate and of effective cooperation between the agencies of both countries in recent years.

Our stand on terrorism is well known. We fully condemn such practice in whatever form or manifestation.

Mr. Chairman;

As our sovereign decision and for the good of the Nation, Cuba has for several years been involved in an ongoing process to update our model and the Socialist State of law and social justice, supported by the vast majority of the citizens in a free, direct and universal referendum.

This is a highly complex and challenging enterprise under any circumstances, but even more difficult under the persistent hostility of US imperialism, which will in no way stop us nor crush the will of present and future Cuban generations.

I deeply appreciate the solidarity aid of our fellow countrymen and of the friends of Cuba in many parts of the world, which we greatly cherish, including those that with great efforts, given the opposition of the government, have arrived from the United States.

We are encouraged by the support received from thousands of persons around the world who have gathered to demand the US government to put an end to the blockade. Many Cubans who exalt the lone star flag even here in this country have been among the protagonist of such actions.

On behalf of my country and its honorable and generous people that resist and heroically fights its way to progress, I submit draft resolution A/75/L.97 “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” to your consideration.

Like the virus, the blockade suffocates and kills and must stop!

Homeland or Death! We shall prevail!

Thank you

They threw us to our death, denying us access to a total of 32 pieces of equipment and supplies needed for the production of our COVID-19 candidate vaccines and the execution of different stages in the clinical trials process, including equipment for the purification of the candidates, attachments for production machinery, filtration tanks and capsules, potassium chloride solution, thimerosal, packaging and reagents.

As if this were not enough, they work hard to get us to kill ourselves, to leave us discouraged, irritated, and desperate. Looking to provoke an explosion.

As none of this has happened, the trending lie is that we are afraid to rebel. A hysterical youtuber and (coincidentally?) an academic, who I cannot respect or take seriously, based on hasty and incomplete readings, attempts to sell the idea that here we live in an Orwellian atmosphere, in an oppressive country.

But we are alive. With candidate vaccines that have proven to be effective, benefiting Cubans, without distinction of any kind. Alive and very well accompanied in the battle against the blockade.

Cuba stands tall, alive, unafraid and outspoken, from one end of the island to the other. Defending our dignity, what we are and what we will never renounce being.

IN CONTEXT

Upon learning of the vote at the United Nations, Communist Party of Cuba First Secretary and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, tweeted: This is how the world reacts to Cuba’s demand. It’s now been 28 years of worldwide rejection of the blockade. The blockaders have run out of arguments. Those in solidarity strengthen support.

By consensus, the world community approved the Cuban resolution entitled “The necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.”

The accumulated damages caused to our country by the blockade, over almost six decades, have reached 147,853,300,000 dollars, at current prices, and taking into account the depreciation of the dollar as compared to gold on the international market, quantifiable damages are equivalent to more than 1,377,998,000,000 dollars.

(Taken from Granma)

In the first place, I refer to Fidel´s call to change everything that must be changed, taking into account factors that characterize the times in which we live. The analysis of the context that defines our current situation includes the international panorama and elements of our society (…)

Seen as a whole, the Constitution articulates our projections for the future and the demands of the present, keeping alive the perspective of a Communist society and establishing the conceptual foundations for a legal body that must reflect changes occurring in Cuban society in terms of forms of property and guarantees for foreign investment.

Counterpoised to the free market, it affirms the state’s prerogatives in protecting the people’s sovereignty. It established norms that must prevail in the functioning of our courts, and identifies the judicial system as the guarantor of the people’s assets and of individual rights.

It preserves free, universal access t public health and education. And above all, concedes absolute priority to respect for human dignity, in the tradition of José Martí (…)

Consistent with the above, a substantive portion of its articles are devoted to the formulation of the rights and duties of citizens, on the basis of respect for human beings. It condemns all forms of discrimination based on race, ethnic origin, social origin, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. The concept of family is updated by recognizing its diversity of forms and manners of constitution. It legitimizes an existing reality with longstanding roots, but hidden under the cloak of hypocrisy, a source of lacerating prejudices inherited from the darkest area of ​​our cultural tradition (…)

As our Carta Magna, the Constitution establishes the fundamental principles that must govern the society we are constructing. It is the conceptual starting point for complementary legislation that will begin to be developed immediately and which will, most likely, require the revision of our Civil and Criminal Codes. It outlines the rules of an imperative, serving as a guide to action to correct latent problems in our current reality tainted by bureaucracy, the inadequate relation of prices to wages, bribery, corruption, complicity, apathy, and complacency before what is poorly done.Conceived with the participation of all and for the good of all, the debate on the Constitution was a concrete exercise of democracy, which contributed proposals that improved the original version. No less important was its contribution to the development of citizens who are conscious, responsible, and committed to the country’s future, a decisive step for the assumption of the necessary willingness to submit to the rule of law, for the benefit of the nation and of all those who share the island.