UNITED NATIONS, New York. – On behalf of the Cuban people I appreciate the solidarity and affection of many governments, parliaments and representatives of civil society, Chancellor Bruno Rodriguez said when intervening in the General Assembly of the United Nations.
The Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs also sent Cuba’s condolences and solidarity to the countries, including the United States that suffered the devastation of Hurricane Irma, as well as the relatives of the victims of the violent earthquake that shook Mexico.
The head of Cuban diplomacy highlighted the heroic attitude of hundreds of Cubans in the confrontation of Irma, which despite the prevention cost ten Cuban lives.
In his speech at the United Nations, Bruno Rodriguez confirmed Cuba’s support for the work of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, as guarantor of international peace.
A World in Crisis
In the face of the alleged interest expressed by the US President to promote the prosperity of nations and people, Cuban Chancellor Bruno Rodriguez outlined in the UN General assembly the deep inequities in the world.
He recalled that eight men have together the same wealth as the 3.6 billion of human beings making up the poorest half of humanity.
In terms of turnover, 69 of the 100 largest entities in the world are transnational corporations, not States, while 700 million of people are extremely poor, the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs remarked.
In denouncing the prevailing injustices, Bruno Rodriguez warned that five million children under the age of five died in 2015 for preventable or curable diseases, and 815 million people are chronically hungry.
A Fair Economic Order Is Unpostponable
In the United Nations General Assembly, Cuban Chancellor Bruno Rodriguez recalled that the humanitarian tragedies associated with migration flows are aggravated.
He denounced the proliferation of xenophobic policies that violate the human rights of millions of people, and they do not solve the problems of underdevelopment and conflict, the main causes of migration.
Rodriguez said military expenditures amount to 1.7 billion dollars, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development lacks the means due to selfishness and unwillingness of the United States and other industrialized countries.
The diplomat reiterated it is unpostponable for the UN to work for a new participatory, democratic, equitable and inclusive international economic order, and a new financial architecture taking into account the particularities of developing countries.
Preserving Life, a responsibility of all
Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, complaint on the decision of the United States Government, the main historical emitter of greenhouse gases, to withdraw its country from the Paris Agreement, in circumstances confirming climate change as a threat to the survival of mankind.
In the General Debate of the United Nations he emphasized it is the responsibility of all to preserve the existence of the human being, and added that an important contribution was the adoption and signing of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Bruno Rodriguez highlighted that the United States tenaciously opposed that treaty, announced that it will employ $700 billion in military expenditure, and develops an extremely aggressive nuclear and military doctrine.
In that sense, he quoted Fidel when he expressed: Cease the philosophy of plunder and the philosophy of war will disappear.
Serious Dangers to Peace
In the General Debate of the United Nations, the head of Foreign Affairs of Cuba denounced that it is daily the illegal imposition of unilateral coercive measures, and the use of tools for the destabilization of Governments.
He noted that the covert use of information and communication technologies to attack other States is growing, while several developed countries are strongly opposed to the adoption of international treaties regulating cooperation to achieve a secure cyberspace.
The Cuban Chancellor added the attempt to use military threat and force to stop the irreversible global trend to multipolarism and polycentrism will cause serious dangers to international peace and security.
Facing Imperialist Interests of Domination
The principles of sovereign equality, respect for territorial integrity, and non-interference in the internal affairs of States must be respected, the Cuban Chancellor underlined, and remarked, The UN Charter and international law do not admit to being reinterpreted.
Rodriguez asserted that the reform of that body should have as an essential objective to meet the pressing needs of the peoples and the disadvantaged majorities.
Multilateralism must be protected and strengthened against imperialist interests of domination and hegemony, Bruno Rodriguez said at the UN, adding that the democratization of the Security Council, both in its composition and in its methods of work, is an unpostponable objective.
The strengthening of the General Assembly and the recovery of its usurped functions are essential, he said.
Criticizing Washington
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez, criticized in the United Nations the jingoist rhetoric predominating in the political discourse in the United States.
He recalled that a few days ago, American Vice-President Mike Pence said in the UN Security Council that the composition of the Commission on Human Rights should be amended to remove transgressor countries.
I assume that does not include his own country, which would merit it for the systematic use of torture and illegal imprisonment, as happens at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base; for the murder of African-Americans, xenophobia and repression of immigrants, the Cuban Chancellor underlined.
Rodriguez denounced in the United Nations that the digital divide between the poor and the rich grows, while seven consortia control what is seen on the planet, and criticized the political use of the so-called BIG DATA.
Cuba’s Position in the International Arena
War is not an option on the Korean peninsula, as it would mean the extermination of millions of people and lead to a conflict of incalculable consequences, Cuban Chancellor Bruno Rodriguez, said as he spoke at the UN General Assembly.
After rejecting the threats of destruction against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the head of Cuban diplomacy advocated for a dialogue, and supported the peninsula´s denuclearization without foreign interference.
The unpostponable solution to the Middle East´s conflict is based on the right of Palestine to self-determination, Rodriguez said, who later demanded the implementation of UN resolutions to guarantee the Sahrawi people the right to self-Determination.
The Cuban Chancellor advocated for a peaceful and negotiated settlement of Syria´s conflict, and called for respect to the nuclear agreement with Iran.
Unwavering Solidarity
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez, said that new threats are now looming on peace and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean, in open disrespect to the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace.
At the United Nations General Assembly, the Chancellor strongly rejected the military threat against Venezuela, the executive order qualifying it as a threat to the national security of the United States, and the unilateral, unfair and arbitrary sanctions applied by that country.
We reiterate our unwavering solidarity with the people and the Bolivarian and Chavista government, and with their civic-military union, led by constitutional President Nicolas Maduro, the diplomat said.
Rodriguez denounced the Nica Act initiative, promoted in the American Congress in an interventionist attitude seeking to impose an economic blockade on Nicaragua.
Strong Condemnation to Blockade
At the United Nations, Cuban Chancellor Bruno Rodriguez said the US government has decided to toughen the blockade, imposing new obstacles to the limited possibilities its businessmen had to trade and invest in Cuba, and additional restrictions on their citizens to travel to the island.
Those decisions ignore the support of large American sectors, including most of the Cuban migration, to the lifting of the blockade and the normalization of relations, the diplomat said.
He added they satisfy only the interests of a group of Cuban origin in South Florida, which insists on damaging Cuba and its people for having chosen to defend, at any price, the right to be free, independent and sovereign.
The Chancellor denounced the tightening measures of the blockade, and reaffirmed that any strategy seeking to destroy the revolution will fail.
Cuba Will Never Give Up Its Principles
American President Donald Trump´s statements against Cuba at the General Assembly of the UN were described by Bruno Rodriguez as disrespectful, offensive and interventionist.
We remind him that the United States, where flagrant violations of human rights are committed to deep concern in the international community, does not have the slightest moral authority to judge our country, the Cuban Chancellor emphasized.
Cuba will never accept impositions, nor renounce its principles, Rodriguez ratified and reiterated President Raul Castro’s willingness to maintain dialogue with Washington on the basis of mutual respect.
On the alleged incidents with U.S. officials in Havana, he argued that the Cuban Government is rigorously fulfilling its obligations to the Vienna Convention to ensure the integrity of diplomats, without exception.
Cuba´s Transparent Position
When referring to ongoing investigations on health conditions reported by U.S. officials in Havana, Chancellor Bruno Rodriguez said that so far there is no evidence to confirm its causes.
He pointed out that the investigation was carried out following indications from the highest level of the Cuban Government, and in order to clarify the issue the effective cooperation of the American authorities will be essential.
The diplomat announced that next November 1st, Cuba will present once again before the General Assembly of the United Nations the draft resolution calling for lifting the economic, commercial and financial blockade.
As inequality, opulence of a few and marginalization of many are growing in the world, the Cuban people will continue their struggle to reach the fairest society possible, Bruno Rodriguez affirmed.