United Nations, United States.- Cuba on Wednesday demanded more political will for the total eradication of slavery, since nearly 40 million people are still subjected to this condition in the world.

The phenomenon is not a fact of the past, warned Cuba’s permanent representative at the United Nations, Anayansi Rodríguez, when she took the floor in the debate on item 119 of the organization’s agenda under the title ‘Commemoration of the abolition of slavery and transatlantic slave trade.’

The ambassador recalled that with the introduction of the slave trade in the Western Hemisphere, the Euroean colonial powers at the time committed a crime against humanity that does not prescribe and whose oblivion or ignorance would become an unforgivable historic error.

The diplomat noted that the greatest beneficiaries of the conquest and colonization, of slavery and the slave trade, must assume their historic responsibility and compensation for the horrendous crimes committed.

At the same time, she supported the just request for compensation raised by the member countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), as well as the application of special and differential treatment for developing nations, particularly in Africa, in their international economic relations.

Around 1.3 million Africans arrived in Cuba as slaves, who, she emphasized, ‘shaped their nationality, culture and tradition of struggle’.

In that regard, Rodriguez said that ‘the Cuban people feel extremely proud of their African roots, which inherited the combative spirit, sensitivity, joy and strength in the face of adversity and love for freedom.’

The Cuban State, with the support and active participation of civil society, has developed a broad program for education and cultural promotion that covers the entire country from the top levels to the communities, he added.

Such actions are directed not only to achieve the broadest dissemination and understanding of a problem that is part of national history, but to maintain and consolidate the cultural roots of African origin, the ambassador concluded.