Madam Chair,
The Cuban delegation aligns itself with the statement made by Algeria on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.
We take this opportunity to express our appreciation to Ambassador of Croatia Mr. Vladimir Drobnjak and Ambassador of Colombia Ms. María Emma Mejía, who served as Co-Chairs of the negotiation process on revitalization during the 72nd session.
In this vein, we welcome the appointment of Ambassadors Ms. Sima Sami Bahous of Jordan and Mr. Michal Mlynár of Slovakia as co-chairs of this process for 2019. We wish them success in their work, for which they will have the full support of my delegation.
Madam Chair,
The Revitalization of the General Assembly is an essential process within the reform process of the United Nations Organization to consolidate the democratic and participatory nature of that organ through the full exercise of the powers enshrined in the UN Charter.
Full respect for the Charter of the United Nations, as well as for the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly and other organs is a priority for Cuba. Consequently, pursuant to the provisions of these governing documents, our country has been involved in the work processes of the Organization since its inception on October 24, 1945.
Ensuring that the confidence of the international community in the United Nations as well as the legitimacy thereof is sustained also requires the Organization to truly respond to the collective interests and to the interests of the vast majority of its Member States.
On numerous occasions, the international community has witnessed the failure to implement resolutions adopted by the General Assembly, as well as the lack of consensus in decisions on long-standing issues that have afflicted our peoples. Cuba calls on the Member States of this Organization to demonstrate their political will and commitment to multilateralism.
Madam Chair,
It is an obligation both for Member States and for the Secretariat itself to respect the mandates set out in the resolutions, regulations and guidelines governing the functioning of this Organization, to whose budget we all contribute in accordance with the principle of capacity to pay.
Moreover, we strongly reject the manipulation, blackmail and pressure exerted by some on the Secretariat in order to violate the procedures of this Organization.
Accordingly, we remind this audience that in recent years the resolution on the Pattern of Conferences, adopted by consensus in the Fifth Committee and subsequently in the General Assembly, calls upon the Secretary-General and the Member States to comply with the guidelines and procedures set out in administrative instruction ST/AI/416 of 26 April 1996. This instruction regulates the authorization of the use of United Nations premises for meetings, conferences, special events and exhibitions.
At the same time, the resolution provides that such meetings, conferences, special events and exhibits should be consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
We strongly reject the use of the halls of this Organization to generate and promote campaigns against its own Member States. This constitutes an open violation not only of the resolutions and norms of the United Nations, but also of the purposes and founding principles of this Organization.
We reiterate that it is the duty of the Secretariat to oversee and ensure full compliance with the working procedures and rules contained in resolutions, regulations and administrative guidelines. In this effort, it should be marked by impartiality, professionalism and responsibility, traits that must resist every pressure.
We hope that this issue will be analyzed next year during the revitalization process and that appropriate measures will be taken within that framework to prevent such violations.
Madam Chair,
Discussions on certain proposals within the Revitalization framework sometimes prejudge the debates and results previously obtained in other forums, in which it is more relevant and pertinent to engage in this type of discussions.
To this end, we reiterate that in relation to the issue of nominations, it is not up to the Revitalization process to change the procedure for selecting the different candidates. Those procedures are contained in the resolutions that give rise to the various organs and in the rules of procedure of the General Assembly. Nor does it fall to the Revitalization process to prejudge the support of States for a candidate, or to question or hinder the presentation of a candidature through selective and discriminatory criteria.
Madam Chair,
Cuba stresses the need for an appropriate balance among the principal organs of the United Nations, in accordance with the Charter, as well as the cessation of the growing and dangerous tendency of the Security Council to invade the Assembly's area of action, which is a violation of procedures.
We hope that, as a result of the revitalization process, the interaction between the Secretariat and the General Assembly will be strengthened, so that the former can respond more effectively to the mandates determined by Member States.
We cannot have an Organization that responds effectively to the contemporary system of international relations without reforming the Security Council and making the General Assembly the center of multilateral debate and work.
In closing, let me take this opportunity to reiterate my delegation's readiness to continue to support the process of revitalizing the General Assembly in order to consolidate its democratic and participatory nature.
Thank you very much