Mr. Chairman,
On behalf of the Cuban delegation, we welcome His Excellency, Mr. Santiago Cafiero, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of the Argentine Republic to the Decolonization Committee, as well as the delegation accompanying him this time.
We associate ourselves with the remarks delivered by Bolivia on behalf of CELAC.
Since the adoption almost six decades ago by the General Assembly of resolution 2065 (XX), the issue of the Malvinas Islands has been a topic to which the international community has given permanent importance and attention within the framework of the United Nations. The Special Committee on Decolonization has already adopted 39 resolutions on the subject, in addition to the 11 adopted by the General Assembly.
Resolution 2065 (XX) is clear. It defines the question of the Malvinas Islands as a sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas between the Argentine Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and establishes that such conflict should be resolved through negotiations between both States, taking into account the fundamental provisions and objectives of the Charter of the United Nations and General Assembly Resolution 1514 (XV).
Mr. Chairman,
Cuba reiterates its unrestricted support for the legitimate right of the Argentine Republic in the sovereignty dispute relating to the Malvinas Islands, which constitute part of the national territory of that brotherly Latin American country.
The support for the legitimate rights of the Argentine Republic in the sovereignty dispute has also been repeated at the highest level in different fora of our region, including the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Many other regional groups, such as ALADI, OLADE, SICA and ALBA, as well as the Ibero-American Summits, interalia, have called for the resumption of negotiations aimed at finding, as early as possible, a peaceful solution to the current controversy.
Mr. Chairman,
Latin America and the Caribbean is a Zone of Peace. This was endorsed in the "Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace", adopted at the 2nd CELAC Summit in Havana, in January 2014. Conducting military drills in the geographical areas of the Malvinas Islands is contrary to the above said Proclamation and the peace-loving vocation expressed therein by the 33 Latin American and Caribbean nations.
Cuba once again restates the call for a negotiated, just and definitive solution to the question of the Malvinas Islands within the shortest possible time, which takes into account the respect for the territorial integrity of Argentina. The Mission of good offices assigned to the Secretary-General on the Malvinas Question is a valid tool to bring the parties to the negotiating table. We urge the Governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom to resume a process of bilateral negotiation.
Cuba, as a member country of CELAC and in accordance with the inalienable principles of its foreign policy, will continue to work within the framework of International Law, and in particular, of Resolution 1514 (XV) of the United Nations General Assembly, in order to achieve that the Latin American and Caribbean region is a territory free of colonialism.
Thank you very much.