73 UNGA: Statement by Ambassador Ana Silvia Rodríguez Abascal, Deputy Permanent Representative and Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of Cuba to the United Nations, upon presentation of the Annual Report of the Security Council. New York, 12 September 2019.

Mr. President,

Our delegation is grateful to you for convening this meeting to discuss the Annual Report of the Security Council to the General Assembly of 2018, contained in document A/73/2.

It is regrettable that, for the third consecutive time, the Security Council is late in discussing and adopting its annual report for its consideration by the General Assembly within the established time frame. 

Delays in the publication of the Annual Report, which has not been issued or made public in an appropriate and timely manner, significantly affect the Assembly's ability to address and consider in depth the work of the Security Council, in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter and that of Member States to fully participate in this process.

On the other hand, the content of the report submitted does not facilitate an exercise of true accountability of the Security Council to the General Assembly.

Once again, the Report is merely a descriptive account of meetings, activities and decisions of the Security Council, when the vast majority of United Nations Member States have questioned whether this is merely a formal and uncritical exercise.

Mr. President,

Cuba demands an annual report of the Security Council that is exhaustive, explanatory and analytical and that allows to assess the causes and implications of the actions undertaken by that organ.

For example, it is inadmissible that the Security Council report of 2018 fails to mention the violations of its own resolutions, in particular resolution 2231 (2015) on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and Resolution 478 (1980) on the status of East Jerusalem, which led to the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA and the transfer of its Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

It is very regrettable that the report does not show the stagnation of the Palestinian question and the prolongation of the suffering of its people. Nor is there any condemnation of the escalation of violence and the tragic events in the Gaza Strip, since 30 March 2018, caused by United States obstruction.

It is also unacceptable that the Annual Report does not mention the violation of resolution 2334 (2016), nor does it demand accountability for the continuation of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.                                                 

Cuba reminds that the Security Council, in carrying out the functions imposed by its fundamental responsibility to maintain international peace and security, confered on  the Charter of the United Nations, acts on behalf of all Member States and must therefore also comply with the obligation established in articles 15 and 24 of the UN Charter to submit special reports on its actions to be  considered by the General Assembly.

Mr. President,

Although the figures on meetings held by the Security Council in 2018 again point to a greater number of public meetings, the Council maintains its anti-democratic nature and its inaccessible and exclusionary practices, working primarily in closed formats.

In this regard, Cuba demands that those formats should be the exception and not the rule.

We aspire to a Security Council that responds to the concerns of all Member States of the Organization, even before adopting its decisions and to have real access to its work and that of its subsidiary organs.

Effective formulas are needed to ensure genuine participation and democratization in the work and decision-making of the Council, including the elimination of the veto.

Beyond Presidential Note S/2017/507, which was an important effort, a comprehensive reform of the Security Council, including its working methods, is required without delay in order to make it a transparent, democratic and representative body, in keeping with the evolution of the United Nations and of international relations.

This includes the formalization of the Council's rules of procedure, which have remained provisional for more than 70 years, and the expansion of its membership, both in the permanent and non-permanent categories, to no less than 26 members. All of this is aimed at correcting the under-representation of developing countries.

Cuba will continue to support the intergovernmental negotiations in the General Assembly on the reform of the Security Council.

Mr. President,

Cuba reiterates its concern on the unjustified expansion of the Security Council's agenda in recent years.

The annual report again indicates the Council's tendency to continue to consider issues that do not necessarily pose an immediate threat to international peace and security and its continued usurpation of the role confered upon other organs, particularly the General Assembly.

The Security Council must adjust its functions to the mandate conferred on it by the Charter of the United Nations. It must cease interfering in matters beyond its competence, in particular those concerning the mandate of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and respect all resolutions of the General Assembly, the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations.

Cuba rejects the selective manipulation of the Council's methods and practices on the basis of political and domination agendas, particularly attempts to introduce issues not included in its agenda and the politicization in the assessment of other issues under the consideration of the organ.

The instrumentalization of the Security Council as a tool of political pressure against sovereign States must end.

Thank you very much