Mr. Chairman,
Cuba appreciates the holding of this Conference and highlights its importance in the search for strengthening international cooperation and developing national capacities in the fight against terrorism.
Our country reiterates its unwavering will to fight against terrorism and its deepest rejection and condemnation of all acts, methods and practices of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, against whomsoever, and wherever they may be committed; regardless of their motivations, including those cases in which States are directly or indirectly involved.
Terrorism cannot and should not be linked to any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group. We condemn any action intended to encourage, support, finance or cover up any terrorist act, method or practice. Its confrontation must be holistic, through direct confrontation and prevention and with concrete actions to eradicate its root causes.
Mr. Chairman,
The harmful practice of certain states to finance, support or promote subversive acts aimed at "regime change", as well as messages of intolerance and hatred against other peoples, cultures or political systems, through the use of modern information and communications technologies, violates the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law.
Terrorism cannot be eradicated if double standards and selectivity prevail in addressing it. In this regard, we reject the manipulation of such a sensitive issue to turn it into an instrument of politics against any country.
Cuba reiterates its strong condemnation of the unilateral acts of certain States that abrogate the right to certify conducts and make politically motivated lists, contrary to international law, since these acts undermine the central authority of the General Assembly in the fight against terrorism.
The International Community cannot accept that, under the banner of a supposed fight against terrorism, certain States carry out acts of aggression, directly or indirectly against sovereign peoples, and that flagrant violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law are committed.
Mr. Chairman,
Cuba is a State Party to 18 international conventions on terrorism and reaffirms its commitment to continue working to strengthen the central role of the United Nations in adopting measures and developing a comprehensive legal framework in the fight against international terrorism.
We reiterate our support for the adoption of a general convention on international terrorism that overcomes the existing legal gaps in the definition of terrorism.
In October 2014, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recognized the country's commitment and institutional capacity to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
In June 2015, Cuba formally became a member of Egmont Group, which inserted our country into the global network of financial intelligence units.
At the national level, Cuba has implemented legislative, institutional and administrative measures of various kinds aiming at preventing and sanctioning all terrorist acts and activities and those directly or indirectly related to them, including the financing of terrorism, border protection and surveillance, illicit arms trafficking, judicial cooperation, adherence to international legal instruments on the prevention and suppression of international terrorism and the adoption of legislation against terrorism.
The country has a specific legislation on terrorism. In December 2001, the Cuban parliament approved Law 93 "Against acts of terrorism", which, in addition to categorize acts of international terrorism, includes all individuals linked to terrorism who have been sanctioned. These legislative measures guarantee the prosecution of any person who, in one way or another, participates in or supports the perpetration of terrorist acts. All acts of terrorism are classified as serious crimes.
The Cuban criminal legislation has categorized the crimes of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism since 1999 and 2001, respectively. On December 7, 2013, the Cuban authorities adopted two legal provisions of high normative hierarchy in terms of prevention and confrontation of money laundering and financing of terrorism.
At the institutional level, Cuba has a General Division for the Investigation of Financial Operations (DGIOF, Spanish abbreviation), at the Central Bank of Cuba, which functions as a Financial Intelligence Unit in charge of receiving, processing and disseminating suspicious transaction reports and establishing coordination and information relations with competent authorities.
Since the incorporation of Cuba to GAFILAT (Financial Action Task Force of Latin America), in December 2012, the Central Bank of Cuba signed the "Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation" among member countries of GAFILAT. In addition, 19 cooperation agreements with other countries on financial intelligence have been signed. As part of the GAFILAT mechanisms, it participates in the Asset Recovery Network.
Cuba has increased judicial cooperation with other countries, for which it has signed 25 agreements of legal assistance in criminal matters, 22 agreements to transfer sanctioned persons and 11 agreements for extradition.
Our country cooperates and exchanges information systematically with counterpart services from other countries in the fight against terrorism. We have an INTERPOL National Central Bureau that provides and requests information regarding persons, or groups of persons, appearing on the wanted list or suspected of committing acts of terrorism or members of organizations of this type or other related crimes.
Mr. Chairman,
Cuba reiterates its willingness to cooperate with any State in the bilateral or multilateral field in the prevention and confrontation of international terrorism, always on the basis of respect for the norms of international law, mutual respect and the Charter of the United Nations.
Thank you very much