New York, November 13, 2018.In his speech at the General Debate of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee on Item 55 "Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the occupied territories Ambassador Humberto Rivero Rosario, representative of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations, denounced the deep suffering of the Palestinian people after 51 years of illegal foreign occupation and of illegal Israeli policies and practices in serious violation of international law, including humanitarian law and human rights.
Once again, he denounced that the unilateral declaration by the President of the United States of the city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is a serious and flagrant violation of the UN Charter, of International Law and of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations, at the same time it violates the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people and of the Arab and Islamic nations.
The ambassador listed the recent UN reports, including those of the Secretary- General, which show the serious humanitarian situation in which the occupied Palestinian people live: occupation of their territory and confiscation of their land and property; construction and expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied territory, including East Jerusalem; forced displacements; colonizing and illegal policies and practices, as well as collective punishments.
Regarding the occupied Syrian Golan, he reaffirmed that any measure or action that Israel has taken or is about to take in order to modify the legal, physical and demographic status and institutional structure of that territory, as well as measures to exercise its jurisdiction and administration, are null and void and have no legal effect.
Rivero Rosario demanded the total and unconditional withdrawal of Israel from the Syrian Golan and from all the occupied Arab territories, while calling for constructive and respectful dialogue among the peoples of the region. He called for an immediate end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has been going on for over a decade, which is plunging more than two million Palestinian civilians into a deep socio-economic and humanitarian crisis.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations