Mr. Chairman,
Cuba supports the statement delivered by the Islamic Republic of Iran on behalf of NAM and by the Republic of El Salvador on behalf of CELAC under item 83 "Report of the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization."
We welcome the presentation of the reports of the Secretary-General and support the work of the Special Committee on the Charter and its agenda. Together with the Chair of the Committee and the Member States, we will continue to promote its work, in accordance with the mandate derived from General Assembly Resolution 3349 (XXIX), which gave rise to this Committee.
The importance of its mandate is confirmed under the current international circumstances, when some countries are seeking to reinterpret the principles of the Charter of the United Nations to promote political agendas for interventionism and interference in the internal affairs of States, to the detriment of the integrity and sovereignty, particularly of developing countries.
Mr. Chairman,
The respect and promotion of the Charter of the United Nations are of paramount importance. The leading role of the General Assembly as the chief regulatory, deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations must be preserved and strengthened.
The Special Committee is the appropriate framework for negotiating any amendments to the Charter of the United Nations, including those arising from the current reform process of the Organization. It is also the space for proposing recommendations to implement all the provisions contained in the Charter and to ensure that all Member States and United Nations organs act in accordance with its principles and purposes, and with international law.
In this regard, the Special Committee on the Charter should promote and be open to full debate on any proposal for any resolution, decision or action by United Nations organs, where these have implications for the fulfillment and implementation of the Charter of the United Nations.
Mr. Chairman,
Despite attempts to hamper the work of the Committee, concrete results have been observed, such as the agreement to hold a mid-term session to discuss the proposal on the peaceful settlement of disputes presented by NAM.
We thank the Secretariat for the support provided, and urge it to create the conditions needed to comply with the agreements we have reached, providing spaces for the substantive debate of the proposals.
Although some delegations are seeking to eliminate or reduce the Committee's working sessions, the number of initiatives presented this year demonstrates their importance and necessity. Those seeking the Committee's non-permanence claim that no concrete results are achieved by the Committee, ignoring the fact that they are the ones who systematically refuse to discuss substantive proposals and hinder the adoption of any decision; alleging simply disagreement without substantiating their positions.
The Committee's current situation has improved compared to recent years. However, there is still a lack of political will on the part of some States, which prevents further progress.
Cuba opposes any attempt to biennializing or reducing the work of the Committee and its agenda. We encourage delegations to submit substantive proposals and constructively engage in debates.
In this regard, we support the current agenda of the Committee and thank the delegations of Venezuela, Belarus, Russia and Ghana, as well as NAM, for their contributions, through concrete proposals, to the work of the Committee.
Finally, we wish to thank the Chairman of the Committee on the Charter for the serious and constructive manner in which he has conducted the work.
Thank you very much.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations.