Mr. President:
We associate ourselves with the statement of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations.
We thank the People's Republic of China for convening this meeting.
H.E. Mr. Philemon Yang, President of the 69th session of the General Assembly,
Dear Ms. Celinda Sosa Lunda, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Plurinational State of Bolivia,
Mr. Li Junhua, Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs,
Excellencies, distinguished delegates and guests:
Dear colleagues:
We endorse the statements made by Uganda on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and by Venezuela on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations.
We welcome the initiative to organize this event, which places the value of multilateralism, diplomacy and peace at the center of attention on the eve of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations.
Mr. President and Moderator,
The principle of equality and non-discrimination is fully recognized in the Cuban legal framework, including the Magna Carta of 2019.
Mr. President of the Forum and Mr. Moderator
My delegation appreciates the panel presentations. Cuba supports initiatives aimed at ensuring the responsible use of artificial intelligence and contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
It is a priority that the AI governance process, in which the United Nations must play a central role, leads to the design of technological systems that avoid the reproduction of stereotypes or any form or manifestation of racism or racial discrimination.
Mr. President, Ms. Moderator,
My delegation appreciates the presentations made by this panel. We welcome the adoption of resolution 78/323: "International Day of Women and Girls of African Descent".
Mr. President, Mrs. Moderator,
We thank the panel for their presentations and begin by reaffirming Cuba's historic commitment to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
Africa is part of the very essence of the Cuban nation. As a result of the transatlantic slave trade and the slave trade, some 1.3 million African slaves were forcibly brought to Cuba to replace the indigenous population that had been practically exterminated by colonialism.
Mr. President,
Cubans are Afro-Latin Americans. The culture, traditions, idiosyncrasies and popular religiosity of Cuba are deeply mixed. Cuban law prohibits the advocacy of hatred, xenophobia, intolerance, racist ideas and all forms of discrimination.
Our commitment to the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action is unwavering, as is our strict compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
H.E. Ms. Emine Erdoğan, First Lady of the Republic of Türkiye;
We appreciate the opportunity to participate in this space to commemorate the third anniversary of International Day of Zero Waste.
We applaud this important initiative to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, including local and national Zero Waste projects to promote environmentally sound waste management.
Distinguished co-facilitators:
We would like to express our appreciation for the work you have done in preparing the first draft of the outcome document of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD). As we have previously emphasized, this process is of utmost importance for our delegation.
We align with the statement delivered by Iraq on behalf of G77 and China and Palau on behalf of AOSIS.
