United Nations, New York.- The U.S. blockade against Cuba continues being applied today with rigour and even in that adverse circumstance, the people of the island is set on the construction of a prosperous, democratic and sustainable nation.
The alternate permanent representative of Cuba to the UN, Ana Silvia Rodriguez, offered details before the Second Commission of the General Assembly on the generalized rejection by the international community to that mechanism.
Cuba, in overwhelming majority, rejects the imposition of unilateral coercive measures that prevent the achievement of economic and social development of the peoples, particularly of developing countries, she said.
In that context, she called on the UN member states to abstain from proclaiming and applying unilateral economic, financial and commercial measures incompatible with International Law and the United Nations Charter.
This work just recently begun in the 73rd Period of sessions of the General Assembly, must be based on constructive debate, national equality of each member and the respect for the different realities, capacities and development levels of each country, he added.
Also, the ambassador reflected on the consecution of Agenda 2030, the Agenda of Action of Addis Ababa and the Paris Agreement, among other framework agreements, will only be possible if a true commitment, political will and cooperation spirit is shown.
On this aspect, she highlighted that political will and real commitment has failed among the most powerful States to comply with its international agreements.
‘Three years after having approved the agenda 2030, inequity and social polarization are worse in the world, including the interior of the own developed nations, whose opulence sadly contrasts with the poverty in which most of the population of developing country lives’, she said.
Over 767 million persons continue living in poverty, 793 million suffer malnutrition and one out of every four children in the world suffer chronic malnutrition, she detailed.
The paradox -the ambassador observed- lies in the existence of resources, technology and capacity to eliminate poverty and underdevelopment, as the global annual military expenditures of 1.7 trillion dollars show.
As the diplomat explained, eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, can only be achieved putting an end to all conflicts between peoples, eliminating the causes that lead to underdevelopment and transforming the present international financial architecture, she stressed.
Also, Cuba repeated the urgency of achieving a new international economic order, based on equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest and the cooperation of all States, whichever are their economic and social systems.