Caracas, Venezuela, July 20, 2019
Dear comrade Jorge Arreaza, Minister of People Popular Power of Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela;
Dear Ministers and Heads of Delegations;
Delegates and guests:
I thank the people and the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela for their warm welcome.
It is an honor to share this space with the more than 120 countries represented in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, an indispensable mechanism of political agreement in the current international situation.
At the political level, the pretensions of domination and hegemony in international relations threaten the respect and implementation of the principles of International Law and the Charter of the United Nations Organization.
In the economic sphere, underdevelopment, poverty, hunger, and marginalization derived from the unjust international economic order in force, have been aggravated as a result of the impact of neoliberal patterns. At the same time, nuclear weapons are modernized and military expenditures increase, reaching 201.8 billion dollars in 2018, close to 2 billion dollars, of which 649 billion dollars are from the United States.
Mr. President:
Old and new challenges force the members of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries to remain united in defense of its founding principles and for the peace and development of our peoples.
Countless lives have claimed the bloody war against the Syrian people, to whom we express solidarity.
The unilateral decisions of the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the occupied Syrian Golan as part of the territory of that country, as well as to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Action Plan on the nuclear program, increase unilateral sanctions and the military threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran which have increased the situation of instability in the Middle East.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires a comprehensive, just and lasting solution, based on the creation of two States, which allows the Palestinian people to exercise the inalienable right to self-determination and to have an independent and sovereign State on the frontiers before 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The people of Puerto Rico have not been able to achieve their deserved independence. It continues without exercising the right to self-determination of other peoples of the world.
We support the legitimate claim of sovereignty of Argentina over the Falkland Islands, South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia.
We reaffirm our solidarity with the Saharawi people and support for the exercise of their right to self-determination and to live in peace in their territory.
We welcome the process of inter-Korean rapprochement and dialogue, which is the way to achieve lasting peace, reconciliation and stability of the Korean peninsula. At the same time, we strongly condemn the imposition of unilateral and unjust sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and external interference in Korean’s affairs.
Politicization and double standards persist in the treatment of the human rights issue. Respectful dialogue, adhering to the principles of objectivity, impartiality and non-selectivity and respect for the self-determination of each people to decide their political, economic, social and cultural system, and their own development model, provide the essential support for international cooperation in this area.
Today, more than before, it is essential to pay attention to our demand that all States refrain from putting pressure or coercion on other countries, including the application and promotion of any unilateral measure of a coercive nature, contrary to International Law.
In recent months, the government of the United States has strengthened its open hostility against Cuba. The resurgence of the United States blockade and its extraterritorial application is an attack on International Law and the sovereignty of all States. The blockade constitutes the main obstacle to our development and is a flagrant violation of the human rights of all Cubans.
The Helms-Burton Act is the fundamental political and legal instrument of that American aggression, which violates and violates the self-determination of the Cuban people and others, freedom of trade, sovereign equality and non-interference in the internal affairs of States, as well as peaceful coexistence among nations. This Law also has a marked extraterritorial claim when submitting citizens and institutions of third countries to the jurisdiction of the Courts of the United States for legitimate actions occurring outside its territory.
The government of the United States intends in this way to destroy the Cuban Revolution through economic suffocation of our people, the suffering of families, poverty and obstacles to development, but again it will fail in that attempt, as it has already failed for 60 years.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, a sister nation, continues to face an escalation of pressures and actions of the United States government of unconventional war, attempted coups, economic sanctions and other hostile and illegal acts that affect the welfare of the Venezuelan people.
The government of the Republic of Cuba reiterates its firm support and invariable solidarity with the constitutional president Nicolás Maduro Moros, with the Bolivarian Revolution and Chavista, and with the civic-military union of its people. In the sister Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the future of the right to the sovereignty of our peoples is resolved today. In this case, the defense of Bandung's postulates, the Purposes and Principles agreed upon at the 14th Summit of the Movement in Havana and the Proclamation of CELAC of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace are imposed. These are vital pillars for the safeguarding of sovereignty, independence and equality of all States.
We also reject attempts to destabilize the sister Republic of Nicaragua, a country of peace and where remarkable social, economic and citizen security progress has been made in favor of its people, under the guidance of Commander President Daniel Ortega.
We extend our most resolute support and solidarity to the democratic-cultural revolution led by Brother President Evo Morales Ayma, who has placed the Plurinational State of Bolivia at the forefront of the struggle for sustainable development and social justice.
In an increasingly dangerous and complex international scenario, in which the security and well-being of our nations face unprecedented challenges the unity and solidarity among the non-aligned countries are indispensable. This requires maintaining the concept of consensus applied historically in the Movement, which includes holding extensive consultations prior to meetings and extensive discussions within them to broaden the necessary margin of understanding, always bearing in mind that a considerable agreement is sought that does not demand or imply unanimity. The document on Methodology of Cartagena does not presuppose in any way, the imposition of numerical requirements in decision making.
It is vital, in addition to working intensively for the unity of the Movement, to preserve, revitalize and strengthen the Non-Aligned Movement in strict adherence to its founding principles that remain fully valid.
Mr. President:
We recognize Venezuela's contribution to strengthening our Movement and preserving unity during the exercise of its Presidency.
We assure the Republic of Azerbaijan, the next presidency of the Movement, all our support.
We reaffirm Cuba's inexorable commitment to multilateralism and to the efforts to advance towards a democratic, just and equitable international order that responds to the demand for peace and sustainable development of all peoples. This world will be possible if we fight jointly to achieve it.
Thank you very much