New York, 6 July 2020. Ambassador Ana Silvia Rodríguez Abascal, Deputy Permanent Representative and Chargé d´Affaires a.i. of Cuba to the United Nations, denounced today the inclusion of the island in the list of the US State Department of countries that allegedly do not fully cooperate with its counter-terrorism efforts, released on 13 May 2020. She described such action as arbitrary and unilateral.
The Cuban diplomat stated that said list is groundless and lacks authority and international support, whose only purpose is the defamation and coercion of countries that refuse to comply with, in their sovereign decisions, the will of the government of the United States.
Rodríguez Abascal recalled that the UN General Assembly has condemned in its resolution A/RES/74/154 the inclusion of Member States in unilateral lists under false pretenses, contrary to international law and the UN Charter, including the false accusations of sponsorship of terrorism, considering those lists as instruments of political or economic pressure against Member States, particularly developing countries.
She reiterated Cuba´s willingness to cooperate with any State in preventing and fighting international terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, always on the basis of respect for the norms of international law.
Such statements were made during the UN Counter-Terrorism Week, an event from 6 to 10 July that will bring together Member States, entities of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact, thought leaders, civil society representatives and other stakeholders to exchange views on this important issue.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations