Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, Mr. Khaled Khiari,
High-ranking officials un the UN Secretariat,
Distinguished Ambassadors,
Brothers and Sisters of Latin America and the Caribbean,
Dear colleagues,
Twelve years later, we are gathered on a date of profound significance for the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. On 29 January 2014, the Heads of State and Government of CELAC adopted a landmark decision in Havana: to proclaim our region a Zone of Peace.
Such a Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace signed by the Heads of State and Government of the region was a major historic event.
The Proclamation materialized the historic wishes of our people and their fighters for independence, those who envisioned and fought for a free and united Great Motherland, which José Martí called “Our America.”
It was an affirmation of dignity, sovereignty, and confidence in genuine regional integration. It was our joint decision to reject war, coercion, or interference aimed at seizing our region. It was our collective commitment to dialogue, cooperation, and mutual respect—in favor of a true culture of peace.
It committed us to settling differences among nations peacefully, through dialogue and negotiation, with absolute respect for international law—and thereby to banish forever the use or threat of force in our region.
It endorsed the renewed commitment of our States to promoting nuclear disarmament as a primary goal, as well as contributing to general and complete disarmament, with a view to strengthening trust across all nations.
It indicated the path for a peaceful living and for cooperation to face up challenges and to jointly solve the problems which affect us all.
With it, we committed ourselves to fulfilling our “obligation not to interfere, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of another State and to observe the principles of national sovereignty, equal rights and the self-determination of peoples”, as well as to respecting the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law.
Distinguished colleagues:
The Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace was clear in its defense of the inalienable right of every State to choose its political, economic, social and cultural system, as an essential condition for ensuring the peaceful coexistence of nations.
This historic document urges all member states of the international community to fully respect its principles in their relations with CELAC member states, practice tolerance and live together peacefully as good neighbors. Preserving these precepts is an imperative.
Just over a decade later, the regional and international context has become extremely dangerous and unpredictable. The United States Government is reviving its imperial claims to domination, driving the planet towards anarchy and war‑mongering chaos, posing a constant threat to international stability and security, and displaying utter disregard for multilateralism and international law. In the face of these colossal challenges, we have a historic duty to safeguard, at all costs, the status of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
In just one month, in our region alone, the United States carried out a brutal and unjustified military intervention in Venezuela, kidnapped its constitutional President, Nicolás Maduro Moros, and comrade Cilia Flores and reinforced the aggressive escalation against Cuba by trying to impose an absolute siege on fuel supplies to the country. These irresponsible actions require urgent mobilization by the international community. Today, the fate of our peoples, regional stability and the very identity of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace are at stake.
Reason, International Law and the unwavering will to fulfill and uphold the postulates of the Peace Proclamation are on our side.
In the face of intentions to reinstate the Monroe Doctrine by military force, we reaffirm that Latin America and the Caribbean is neither disputed territory nor anyone’s backyard. Latin America and the Caribbean belong to the peoples from the Rio Bravo to Patagonia, as our Apostle said.
José Martí warned us 135 years ago, and I quote: "The trees must form ranks to keep the giant with seven-league boots from passing! It is the time of mobilization, of marching together, and we must go forward in close ranks, like silver in the veins of the Andes."
This historic moment needs more unity, even in our diversity. In the face of the differences, challenges and threats that now loom over Latin America and the Caribbean, let us uphold peace. The peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean deserve to live in peace.
Thank you very much.