Mr. President:
Today we commemorate the end of the Second World War, a conflict that taught us the horror of dehumanization, but also the power of collective resistance. With deep respect, we pay solemn tribute to the memory of the millions of men, women and children who perished in that devastating conflict, whose wounds still resonate in the conscience of our peoples.
We remember with particular gratitude the sacrifice of the Soviet people, whose resistance was decisive in the defeat of Nazism. It is also right to recognize the role of the allied forces and the resistance movements in each occupied country in containing and destroying the fascist war machine.
From the heroic deed at the Brest Fortress to the epic battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, from the relentless advance toward Berlin, without enough armament and outnumbered, they resisted heroically. Their courage, forged in the conviction of defending humanity and socialism, proved that not even the most lethal military power could defeat a united people, determined to keep their dignity and morale high, and ready to win or die.
Cuba, although far from the battle fronts, wrote its own chapter in the global struggle against fascism. The slogan "Everything to defeat fascism" was the one that mobilized the broadest solidarity of the Cuban people with those who were fighting in the occupied countries and in the front lines against the Nazi invasion of the USSR.
From the volunteers who crossed the oceans to fight against fascism in Spanish lands, to the merchant sailors who fell in the Atlantic waters during the Second World War, the Cuban people gave many examples of the anti-fascist sentiment of its best sons.
Through the National Antifascist Front (NFA), the delivery of money, clothes, medicine, milk, soap, leather and other basic necessities to the USSR and other peoples fighting against fascism was guaranteed.
Hundreds of compatriots were part of the international brigades that fought against fascism in Spain, the largest Latin American contingent present in that war.
Eight decades after the end of the Second World War, the Member States of the United Nations must resolutely reaffirm our commitment to peace, the sovereignty of peoples and multilateralism. This is undoubtedly the best way to honor the memory of the victims of war and to free future generations from this terrible scourge.
Mr. President:
We must not forget that the genesis of the Second World War was influenced by factors such as expansionism, xenophobia and disregard for national sovereignty. Today, when we see the resurgence of extremist ideologies, the use of military power to advance geopolitical interests, and the proliferation of unilateral and illegitimate coercive measures in violation of International Law, it is our duty as an international community to speak out and defend international peace and security at all costs.
In this context, we cannot fail to mention the urgent and inescapable question of Palestine.
The genocide perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people, with the complicity and financial, political, military and logistical support of the United States government, is clear evidence of a new and repulsive form of fascism.
We reiterate the urgent need for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the creation of two States, which would allow the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and to have an independent and sovereign State within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and which would also guarantee the right of return of refugees.
Mr. President:
On the threshold of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, humanity is experiencing a global, multidimensional crisis that is testing the Organization's capacity to respond. Today, as never before, we must remember the purposes for which it was created and defend the principles it upholds and multilateralism in the face of hegemonism, domination, unilateralism, coercion, and interventionist and interventionist discourse.
It is alarming that global military spending will increase to $2.7 trillion by 2024, encouraged by the warmongering rhetoric of the United States. Substantial resources essential for the sustainable development of our peoples continue to be devoted to the arms race.
The danger that humanity will again witness the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will remain latent as long as all nuclear weapons are not eliminated in a transparent, complete, irreversible and verifiable manner. The atomic bombing of both cities, just days after the German surrender, reminds us that true peace can only be sustained on the basis of respect for human life and dignity.
In this regard, we underscore the relevance of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, in which our region identified nuclear disarmament as a priority.
Distinguished Colleagues:
Attempts to distort the history of the Second World War and to minimize the decisive contribution of the Soviet people to the defeat of fascism, as well as the attempt of Western power circles to hijack the truth, together with the development of neo-fascist practices in several countries, are a latent danger and a threat to world peace.
Historical memory should not be the heritage of a few. It should not divide us, but unite us in a common purpose: to build a world in which the horrors of the past will never be repeated.
Cuba, which knows well the cost of colonialism, interference and war, will continue to work for a culture of peace and a more just, democratic and equitable international order, in which today’s threats to the very existence of the human species will disappear once and for all.
Let us globalize unity, solidarity and international cooperation in the face of selfishness, wars and blockades.
Thank you