Mr. President, Mrs. Moderator,
We thank the panel for their presentations and begin by reaffirming Cuba's historic commitment to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
Africa is part of the very essence of the Cuban nation. As a result of the transatlantic slave trade and the slave trade, some 1.3 million African slaves were forcibly brought to Cuba to replace the indigenous population that had been practically exterminated by colonialism.
Talking about this subject in the 21st century may seem like a purely academic or historical question. Nothing could be further from the truth. The situations of profound social and economic inequality, hatred, fanatism, racism, racial discrimination and prejudice that continue to affect people of African descent are rooted in the terrible legacy of slavery and the slave trade.
The reparation and full compensation of the peoples and groups affected by this terrible crime against humanity is therefore a moral obligation and a historical debt. The developed countries, which benefited from conquest, colonization, slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, are responsible for the extermination associated with them. This reality cannot be ignored.
We reiterate Cuba's support for the just demand of the CARICOM countries for reparations for the damages caused by colonialism and slavery. A special and differential treatment for developing countries, especially Africa, in their international economic relations would also be just.
It is ethically unjustifiable that a tiny minority continue to enjoy the exponential increase of their wealth while the vast majority struggle to survive. It is profoundly unjust that those of us who were colonies in the past are still subject to an international order that continues to perpetuate the "philosophy of dispossession". This must change immediately.
Thank you