NTERVENTION BY THE VICE-PRIME MINISTER OF JUSTICE ROSABEL GAMÓN VERDE AT THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE XXXIII SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE, Vienna, Austria, May 13-17, 2024.
Mr. Chairman
I would like to begin by congratulating you on your election to chair the thirty-third session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. I would also like to thank the Secretariat for the preparations for the event.
In Cuba, crime prevention is a strategic priority for the leadership of the government and social organizations. For this reason, our country has worked hard in the elaboration and approval of laws that contribute to the development of the legal system.
This is manifested in our Constitution of the Republic and the Family Code. Also with the implementation of the Program for the Advancement of Women and the Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, expressions of the political will of the State and Government to ensure the welfare and security of its people.
The permanent and joint action of the people and the government has made it possible to prevent and confront multiple criminal tendencies. This, together with the prophylactic work with the masses, the promotion of access to basic rights for all citizens and the approval of laws that above all benefit the people, guarantee success in crime prevention and the administration of justice.
Let us be certain that in Cuba there is a firm commitment that allows us to develop and maintain an effective, impartial and humane criminal justice system, with the supreme objective of continuing to provide the people with high levels of citizen security and access to social conquests in an equitable manner. In spite of the limitations suffered by our country as a result of the unjust economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the Government of the United States.
Mr. President,
I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the commitment of the people and the government I represent to the fight against crime not only in our territory, but also beyond our borders. We are a State party to the Palermo Convention and its three protocols, and therefore we emphasize its effective implementation.
In relation to international cooperation actions, Cuba kept 56 agreements in force: 25 on Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, 20 on Transfer of Sanctioned Persons and 11 on Extradition.
We stress the importance of combating crime in all its forms, methods and practices. We strongly reject human trafficking, which constitutes a scourge yet to be overcome by all humanity and with which we maintain a policy of zero tolerance.
By virtue of Cuba's firm commitment in the fight against this scourge, a national report on the situation of human trafficking in the country has been published since 2013. And recently it was approved by Agreement of the Council of State the National Action Plan for the prevention, confrontation and protection of victims of human trafficking until the year 2026.
The experiences achieved have allowed the dissemination of the subject, the identification of cases, the coordinated work between different institutions, the preparation and training of specialists, as well as the adoption of control measures for its confrontation.
Mr. President
Cuba rejects and condemns all terrorist acts, methods and practices, in all their forms and manifestations by whomever, against whomever and wherever they are committed, whatever their motivations, including those cases in which States are directly or indirectly involved.
For more than half a century, the Cuban people have been victims of countless acts of this nature, which have caused the death of thousands of its citizens, serious human damage and substantial material losses.
The country has put in place legislative, institutional, administrative and other measures, as a State Party to the 19 international conventions relating to terrorism, with the aim of preventing and punishing all terrorist acts and activities and those directly or indirectly related to them, including those linked to the financing of terrorism, border protection and surveillance, illicit arms trafficking, judicial cooperation, accession to international legal instruments on the prevention and suppression of international terrorism and the adoption of anti-terrorism legislation.
international legal instruments on the prevention and suppression of international terrorism and the adoption of anti-terrorist legislation.
Mr. Chairman,
We urge that meetings of this type continue to be held. In these spaces, the member countries have the opportunity to present their achievements in the field of crime prevention, which is beneficial for subsequent consensus.
We are convinced that international cooperation is a decisive element in confronting the most common forms of transnational organized crime, including its emerging forms. As well as assistance in the processing of extradition requests, mutual legal assistance, joint investigations and the transfer of convicted persons.
I would like to conclude by reiterating Cuba's commitment, as part of CELAC, to guarantee peace in the region through the application of international law and to strengthen the fight against transnational organized crime.
Thank you very much.