Mr. President,
Cuba upholds the principle that nothing is more important than a child.
The Cuban Constitution endorses the principle of the best interests of the child. The Families Code includes an extensive catalogue of children's and adolescents' rights.
In order to strengthen the comprehensive protection of minors’ rights, consultations have been held with more than 20,000 children and adolescents throughout the country on the draft of the new Children, Adolescents and Youth Code. This process has also taken into account the recommendations of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF.
In Cuba, the protection of children against human trafficking is guaranteed. Our country has a zero-tolerance policy towards this serious scourge.
All Cuban children suffer the consequences of the economic blockade imposed by the United States.
The health impacts on our children suffering from chronic and terminal illnesses have been documented.
It would only take the amount of money that Cuba is deprived of during 25 days of blockade to ensure, over the course of a year, the availability of essential medicines for all our patients, including children.
Losses caused by just 15 minutes of blockade are equivalent to the amount needed to purchase prostheses for our hearing-impaired children and adolescents.
Half an hour of blockade is equivalent to the cost of the wheelchairs needed by our children with special needs.
The blockade is an act of violence and a flagrant violation of the human rights of Cuban children.
Thank you.