Cuba on behalf of Algeria, Bahrein, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Democratic People´s Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lao People´s Democratic Republic, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, State of Palestine, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Türkiye, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
Mr. President:
Cuba has the honor to deliver this Joint Statement on behalf of a Group of 64 countries.
Our countries reiterate the support for the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health conducive to life with dignity.
International assistance, cooperation and solidarity are essential to address global challenges, including efforts to ensure the full realization of the human right to health in all nations.
The COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and diseases such as ebola and cholera have demonstrated that international medical assistance, cooperation and solidarity are essential tools for the protection of human rights, including the right to health.
We emphasize that States should refrain from imposing any type of unilateral coercive measure, blockades or embargoes contrary to the UN Charter and the international law thatrestricts the supply to another State of adequate medicines and medical equipment, as a means of exerting political or economic pressure.
We underscore the positive contribution of international medical assistance, cooperation and solidarity to the effective realization of the right to health and to saving the lives of millions of people in the world. We reject any attempt to deprive peoples of this right and to hinder international medical assistance, cooperation and solidarity for political or any other reasons.
Our countries call for the strengthening and expansion of international medical assistance, cooperation and solidarity programs, in order to increase the provision of high quality health services, attend to those most in need and contribute to the training of young professionals in the field of health.
Thank you.