Cuban Vice-President Salvador Valdés today stressed before the members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) the imperative need to maintain the unity of the group and coordinate positions in the face of the new global challenges.
Speaking on the opening day of the XIX Summit of the NAM in Uganda, Valdes stressed that the Caribbean nation, in its capacity as president of the Group of 77 and China, is committed to fostering unity, solidarity and cooperation among the countries of the South.
"Our coordinated action constitutes an urgent necessity in the face of the prevailing international order, deeply unjust, exclusive and discriminatory towards our peoples," he said.
In this regard, he expressed the island's firm rejection of the application of unilateral coercive measures imposed against several member states of the Movement.
He also reiterated Cuba's support for the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara and Puerto Rico.
During his speech, the Vice President questioned how the West can justify the murder of children and women in Gaza, the indiscriminate bombing of schools and hospitals, as well as the deprivation of access to water and food.
He proposed that the Non-Aligned Movement undertake a series of practical actions such as demanding, in all possible forums, an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories.
The bloc's support, he added, for the urgent dispatch to the Gaza Strip of an international protection mission, authorized by the UN General Assembly, with the mandate to guarantee the safety and protection of the civilian population and facilitate the delivery of emergency humanitarian aid.
Valdes called for "the convening of a resumed emergency special session of the UN General Assembly, in which the Movement would propose a resolution urgently convening a Peace Conference under the auspices of the United Nations to preserve the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people".
He also urged support for the early accession of Palestine as a full Member State of the UN.
The representative of the Caribbean country, at another point in his speech, indicated that the current global order is characterized by multiple crises, high social polarization, growing asymmetries, geopolitical conflicts and a marked erosion of multilateralism.
In view of this scenario, he demanded an urgent democratization of the system of international relations, a statement made by the island during the G77 and China Summit held in Havana in September 2023.
The dignitary reiterated Cuba's commitment to international cooperation based on mutual respect, selfless assistance and complementarity.
He thanked the members of the Mnoal for their firm rejection of the blockade imposed by the United States on the island and the inclusion of the Caribbean country in the unilateral list of state sponsors of terrorism.
The Vice-President congratulated Azerbaijan for its outstanding work at the helm of the NAM and wished Uganda success in the performance of its presidency for the triennium 2024-2026.