Mr. Chair,
Mr. High Commissioner,
We live in a dangerous and unsustainable world, marked by disrespect for international law, violations of the Charter of the United Nations and unilateralism.
Armed conflicts are multiplying, the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly severe, inequalities are widening, and geopolitical tensions are mounting. Developing countries are disproportionately affected.
In this context, the United Nations Refugee Agency faces major challenges. In 2026 alone, it has had to respond to 22 emergency declarations in 18 countries.
More than 117 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, 22 million of them in Latin America. By 2027, this figure is projected to reach a record high of over 131 million.
Behind these figures lie painful and tragic human realities. These people often face serious risks, including dangerous journeys and exploitation by smugglers and human traffickers.
The number of displaced people is growing, but resources are decreasing. UNHCR's budget has been reduced by one third in just two years. Many wealthy countries are contributing increasingly less to UNHCR and to the humanitarian system as a whole.
For the first time, the private sector has become UNHCR's main source of funding, with donations often tied to specific interests that do not necessarily align with its priorities. This is a matter of concern.
UNHCR reform cannot be an end in itself. Its objective must be to ensure that the Office effectively fulfils its mandate under current circumstances. We need a more agile and stronger UNHCR, focused on its work on the ground.
UNHCR aims to halve, by 2035, the number of refugees in protracted displacement who depend on humanitarian assistance. This is an ambitious goal.
Cuba supports the “50by35” initiative, on the understanding that its purpose is neither to shift responsibility onto host States nor to reduce humanitarian assistance, but rather to reduce the need for it.
Eighty per cent of refugees are hosted by countries with very limited resources. They cannot be expected to shoulder greater burdens without international support.
Significantly reducing the number of refugees and displaced persons necessarily requires addressing the root causes that force them to flee. We must move from managing displacement to resolving it.
Real success will lie in creating the conditions in which people no longer need UNHCR.
Mr. Chair,
For Cuba, the challenges posed by the current international situation take on an even greater dimension. Our country faces the persistent and abusive hostility of the United States, which has continued for nearly seven decades.
More than 80 per cent of our population has known only a Cuba under economic blockade. Every young Cuban has had to live in a country subjected to a blockade.
Since January 2026, this escalation has become even more cruel and dangerous, with the imposition of an energy blockade against Cuba. The aim is to provoke a humanitarian crisis in order to destabilize the country and achieve political objectives.
No nation, including those with economies far more robust than Cuba's, could withstand such a brutal, asymmetric and prolonged act of aggression without paying a considerable price.
The blockade against Cuba is genocide that silently suffocates and kills. It is collective punishment that claims lives and causes anguish.
The threat of military aggression also persists, under the absurd pretext that Cuba constitutes a threat to the United States.
Cuba is a country of peace. Cuba is not a threat — the blockade is!
It would be impossible to deny that the extreme tightening of the economic blockade is the main reason why many Cubans have opted to pursue personal fulfilment abroad, either temporarily or permanently.
Cuban families suffer the distress and pain of separation artificially imposed by inhumane measures that affect the entire population and are reflected in high rates of emigration. This has a devastating impact on the nation.
UNHCR must assess the impact of unilateral coercive measures on human mobility, including the blockade against Cuba.
In conclusion, I wish to emphasize that Cuba will continue to contribute actively and constructively to the indispensable work of UNHCR.
Thank you.