New York, 6 October 2016. At the General Debate of the Second Committee on “Operational Activities”, Cuba considered today the forthcoming Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review of Operational Activities for Development as a good opportunity to reaffirm and hold high the principles governing the activities of the United Nations System in our countries, to further strengthen its intergovernmental nature and its strictly development-related objective and wished the United Nations System to be ever more proactive in eliminating poverty and achieving Sustainable Development, and in responding more effectively to the national strategies and priorities of the countries, at all times under the mandates and responsibilities of every organization.
At this forum, the delegate of Cuba to the Second Committee, Biana Leyva Regueira, advocated for developing countries to be decisively engaged in the governance of the United Nations System for Development and that its Operational Activities for Development are not designed by imposing unique models and pre-established formulas. Hence, she rejected the intention of some donor countries to manipulate operational activities for development to meet their desires for hegemony and the imposition of models that facilitate their interests of domination.
While expressing our nation’s willingness to work constructively to reach the goals outlined, she noted: “Cuba is working to strengthen efficient international institutions for development, that respect self-determination of peoples, that have growing, predictable and untied resources, that possess the means required to foster the socio-economic development of our peoples in a neutral way, that respond the requests and address the priorities established by national governments and that act in full alignment with the development policies and strategies established by the States. Respect to national sovereignty is not negotiable”. (Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations)