His Excellency Mr. Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and President of the Security Council:
We support the statement to be made later by the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations.
We greatly appreciate the initiative to convene this open debate. We recognize China’s important role in defending multilateralism, diplomacy, global development, and peace.
As we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, the world is passing through a complex juncture characterized by serious and growing threats to international peace and security and a progressive erosion of the foundations on which this Organization rests. Today’s meeting invites us to reflect on its essential role in maintaining international peace and security.
We have witnessed the withdrawal of the world’s greatest power from international organizations, with total disregard for the important work they do. We have witnessed the support and participation of this great power, without ethical or moral qualms, in the expansion of the genocide against the Palestinian people; in declarations of plans for land usurpation, ethnic cleansing and annexation; in the elevation of racist and supremacist ideology; in the violation of environmental agreements to favor transnational corporations, without taking into account the risks to the sustainability of life on our planet.
In the face of this challenging scenario, we reaffirm the importance of the role of the United Nations as the main stronghold against global threats and attempts to undermine international cooperation and dialogue.
Full respect for the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter and the norms of international law, as well as the defense of multilateralism, are essential in this increasingly dangerous and complicated international scenario, in which the security and well-being of our nations face unprecedented challenges.
We reiterate the call for an urgent and profound transformation of the Organization for the benefit of present and future generations.
We also oppose the tendencies to privatize the Organization and transform it into an instrument representing the interests of the great powers and transnational capital.
It is increasingly clear that the world needs to move towards the construction of a new international order with the participation of all. A debate like this can be helpful, and Cuba is committed to contributing to it.
It must be an order in which all nations have the opportunity to contribute and are truly represented on an equal footing. It must be a sustainable order that promotes peace, security for all, social justice, equitable prosperity, respect for cultural, ethnic and religious plurality; an order that promotes democratic access to science and technology and human rights for all, not just for privileged elites; that is based on solidarity, cooperation and respect for the right of each country to choose its political, economic and social system without foreign interference.
The role of the General Assembly must be revitalized and strengthened, without interference from the Security Council in its work. There is an urgent need to reform the Security Council itself, transforming it into a truly transparent, inclusive, democratic and representative body that can effectively carry out its primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security, and act without double standards in order to preserve the credibility of the United Nations.
The presence of Cuba on the arbitrary US list of states allegedly sponsoring terrorism, published by that government as an instrument of coercion, is an act of aggression that legitimately provokes the rejection of the international community. It is a gross manipulation of the fight against terrorism, a way of attacking countries it identifies as adversaries for the simple fact of defending their full sovereignty and right to self-determination.
It is also an obvious manifestation of the problems of the current international order.
As long as unilateral coercive economic measures continues to be used as a means of achieving foreign policy objectives, and as long as punitive approaches against developing countries do not cease, there can be no question of a genuine and inclusive multilateralism for all.
From Cuba, we have supported the global initiatives proposed by China, which are an expression of its will to defend peace in the world, international dialogue and cooperation, equality among nations and peoples and complementarity, as well as the rejection of hegemonism and unilateral coercive measures.
Humanity needs more solidarity, cooperation and dialogue, and less selfishness, imposition and coercion. It deserves a firm and renewed commitment to multilateralism in order to guarantee peaceful coexistence, maintain international peace and security, and find lasting solutions to systemic problems.
In this endeavor, Cuba can always be counted on.
Thank you