Mr. President, Dear Foreign Minister of the Dominican Republic, we are pleased to see you presiding over this Council meeting.
We welcome H.E. Mr. Carlos Holmes Trujillo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, and the delegation that accompanies him.
We also welcome the presence of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, H.E. Ms. Retno Marsudi.
We thank Mr. Carlos Ruiz Massieu, new Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, for his presentation, and we reiterate our support for him as we pay tribute to the important work carried out by his predecessor, Mr. Jean Arnault.
Mr. President,
Cuba is committed to the Peace Process in Colombia. We have contributed for decades to the various efforts made to this end in that country.
The Final Agreement for Ending the Conflict and Building a Stable and Lasting Peace was a historic event that allowed the reintegration into society of thousands of guerrilla fighters confronted by the Colombian State for more than 50 years.
The implementation of the Final Agreement signed by the Colombian State and the FARC-EP, in its entirety, is critical. Although important progress has been made, there are considerable delays in the implementation of other important components of the Agreement, including those related to political participation, the agrarian issue, legal, legislative and other actions, such as the lack of security in the most vulnerable areas and the slow process of socio-economic reintegration of ex-combatants.
It is particularly worrying that attempts are being made to modify essential aspects of what has been agreed in good faith in terms of Special Justice for Peace. It would be regrettable if years of complex negotiations were ignored.
Non-compliance with the Agreement could jeopardize the future of peace that Colombia yearns for and deserves. It would have a negative impact on Latin America and the Caribbean, and on the international community as a whole, which has supported the Final Agreement without hesitation and is following this process with hope.
Mr. President,
We wish to express our condolences to the government and people of Colombia, in particular to the families of the victims of the attack that took place in Bogotá on January 17. Cuba rejects and condemns all terrorist acts, methods and practices in all their forms and manifestations.
Cuba has never allowed nor will it ever allow its territory to be used for organizing terrorist acts against any State. Cuba has strictly fulfilled its role as Guarantor in the peace process between the FARC-EP and the Colombian authorities, as well as Guarantor and Alternative Seat for the Colombian Roundtable of Dialogues between the Government and the ELN.
Cuba is against terrorism and against war, in defense of Peace. With the morality to have been a victim of State terrorism for decades and an impeccable performance, we condemn terrorism, whatever its motives, in all its forms and manifestations.
Thank you very much