New York, December 20th, 2023.
Mr. President:
We support the resumption of this tenth emergency special session of the UN General Assembly. Immediate action must be taken in the face of the inaction of the Security Council, paralyzed by the veto of the United States to protect the excesses of the Israeli Government, the occupying power. History will not forget or forgive those who could have stopped the genocide and did not.
The highest priority of this Assembly today must be to achieve an end to the violence and massacre against the Palestinian people, an immediate ceasefire and the provision of urgent and sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Mr. President:
For more than two months we have followed with great concern and dismay the serious developments in the Middle East.
Cuba rejects the death of civilians and innocent people of all parties involved in this conflict, regardless of ethnicity, nationality or religious faith.
Our position is clear. The current situation is the result of 75 years of Israeli practices of illegal occupation and colonization, in flagrant violation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in their own territory; as well as the prolonged disrespect for the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and International Law, including numerous UN resolutions.
Nothing justifies the collective punishment to which the Palestinian people are being subjected today, in blatant breach of International Humanitarian Law. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the killings of civilians, especially children, women and humanitarian workers of the United Nations system; the indiscriminate bombings, the destruction of homes, hospitals and civilian infrastructure; as well as the deprivation of water, food, electricity and fuel services to the Palestinian population, which considerably worsen the precarious humanitarian situation resulting from the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The impunity guaranteed by the United States to the Israeli government must cease so that the genocide can stop. It is unacceptable that, once again, the Security Council has been unable to fulfill its mandate. It is regrettable that the United States has vetoed in this body 47 resolutions related to the situation in the Middle East.
While the international community continues to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, the United States transfers weapons to Israel, resulting in the loss of more than 18,000 innocent civilian lives. At this minute, Palestinian children continue to die just because they were born in that land.
If this situation continues, the international community will be an inert witness to the extermination of the Palestinian people. In the face of Israel's barbarism and apartheid policy in the occupied Palestinian territories, indolence is not permissible.
We reiterate our call for an end to double standards, selectivity and political manipulation, which undermine the cause of international peace and security.
We advocate the search for an early solution through negotiation to stop this escalation of violence and its very serious humanitarian consequences.
We emphasize 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 the refugees to return.
We reiterate, once again, our strong rejection of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, as well as its illegal annexation policy and colonization practices. We condemn the annexation plans of the Palestinian territories of the Jordan Valley and other parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
It is urgent to continue to mobilize, under the coordination of the United Nations, emergency humanitarian aid to address the catastrophic situation in Gaza. We call on all parties involved to facilitate the entry and distribution of this indispensable assistance to the Palestinian people.
In reiterating our unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian and Arab cause, we reaffirm that Cuba will never be among the indifferent and will contribute in every possible way to the legitimate international efforts to put an end to the current situation.
Thank you