Cuba has been elected as member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, a body made up by 47 member States responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights in the world. Cuba, a founding member of the Council that abolished the former Human Rights Commission, is holding, for the fifth time, one seat among the eight reserved for the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba reiterates Cuba’s firm commitment to the development and sustainability of its health system for the benefit of the Cuban people and the cooperation with the peoples in the region and elsewhere in the world. Cuba has the capacity to do it, which has been created with its own efforts. This is a reality that no one can change.
For 60 years, Cuba has endured a cruel economic, commercial and financial blockade of extraterritorial nature, imposed by the government of the United States of America. The US blockade is the main obstacle to the economic and social development of our country. It has been stepped up amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, hindering the acquisition of vital drugs, medical equipment and inputs under these circumstances.
More than once, at this very forum, Cuba has reiterated its willingness to cooperate with the democratization of the UN and the upholding of international cooperation, that can be saved only by it. As stated by the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and I quote: “The international community shall always count on Cuba´s honest voice in the face of injustice, inequality, underdevelopment, discrimination and manipulation, and for the establishment of a more just and equitable international order which really centers on human beings, their dignity and wellbeing.”
On the seventy fifth anniversary of the United Nations, multilateralism and international Law are being threatened by the greatest power in the world. The US irresponsible behavior is the biggest threat to international peace and security. It instigates conflicts, non-conventional and trade wars and imposes severe unilateral coercive measures. In an arms race of its own making, it squanders resources that are indispensable for the sustainable development of our peoples, while refusing to cooperate to confront the multiple crises generated by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.