Mr. President,
We appreciate the holding of this open debate and endorse the statement delivered by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on behalf of NAM.
We believe that, in confronting global challenges and threats, it is essential to preserve and promote multilateralism, in particular by strengthening the central role of the United Nations and promoting international cooperation.
In this context, Cuba reiterates its strong commitment to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, which form the basis of multilateralism and the international system that we have built within the framework of this Organization.
The principles of International Law enshrined in the Charter, namely: sovereign equality among States; respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of States; non-intervention in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of States; refraining from the threat or use of force; and the peaceful settlement of disputes, should remain the main basis of international legality and at all times guide the actions of States and international relations.
The attempts to impose domestic policies, to enact and apply extraterritorial laws such as the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba for over 60 years in violation of International Law, the Charter of the United Nations and 27 General Assembly resolutions; the crude manipulation, politicization and double standards in matters of global importance, including human rights, on the part of the United States government and its pressures, reprisals, sanctions and financial blackmail against the United Nations Organization impinge upon multilateralism and pose enormous challenges and threats to the rules of peaceful coexistence among States.
Ignoring international commitments and obligations previously undertaken such as the withdrawal of the United States from relevant international agreements of great significance to confront global phenomena like climate change only shows strong disrespect for international norms and endangers the balance, well-being and security of our planet.
We strongly reject the statement made in this room this morning by the Permanent Representative of the United States against the Cuban government and people.
The United States government lacks the moral authority to criticize Cuba or anyone else when it comes to human rights. Let us recall that Cuba is a State party to 44 international human rights instruments, while the United States is a State party to only 18 instruments of this kind. It has no respect whatsoever for the right to life, peace, development, security or food, nor does it recognize the rights of girls and boys. It flagrantly violates the human rights of its own citizens, especially African-Americans and Hispanics, minorities, refugees and migrants, who it incarcerates in cages.
It has further used extrajudicial executions, kidnapping and torture, including in the prison at Guantánamo Naval Base that it illegally occupies from our territory.
We all know that the U.S. government is responsible for crimes against humanity. This State was the one that used nuclear weapons against civilian population. They established military dictatorships in Latin America, organized bloody coups d'état and interferes unscrupulously in the electoral processes and internal affairs of most of the world's States.
Certainly none of this does credit to multilateralism.
Mr. President,
In a global context marked by growing threats to international peace and security; by unconventional wars; gross violations of State sovereignty; policies of domination through the use of force; attempts to re-impose a unipolar order; breaches of International Law; threatening and arbitrary rupture of international treaties; and the multiplication of unilateral sanctions and trade wars; the only possible response is to preserve and revalidate multilateralism, based on strict respect for the principles of International Law and the Charter of the United Nations.
Consequently, an essential component is the reform of the United Nations, aimed at achieving a truly democratic and participatory Organization, with a transparent and democratized Security Council and a revitalized General Assembly.
Cuba reiterates its unavoidable commitment to continue working together with the United Nations and its Member States towards the establishment of a democratic and just international order that responds to the demand for peace, development and justice of peoples across the world and ensures the preservation and strengthening of multilateralism.
Thank you very much