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Statement
by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parilla at
UN General Assembly, October 28th. 2014
Mr.
President;
Distinguished Permanent Representatives;
Delegates;
The
United Nations General Assembly will consider today,
for the twenty-third time, this issue which is so
important to the international community, because it
is related to international law, which protects all
states, large and small, rich and poor, and
guarantees their independence and the exercise of
national sovereignty, which is the basis of
sovereign equality.
It
is also directly linked to the enjoyment of human
rights by all persons and by all peoples.
This
matter concerns freedom of trade and navigation,
which protects the interests of states, companies
and individuals.
We
are, however, gathered here at a very specific
international conjuncture, characterized by serious
threats to international peace and security,
atrocious wars and terrorist actions of extreme
cruelty, the risks posed by the existence of huge
nuclear arsenals and outrageous military
expenditures - useless to the solution of any of the
serious problems facing the world’s population,
which is rapidly approaching the eight billion.
This
is a critical moment in the impact of climate change
which, among other catastrophic consequences, can
provoke unprecedented famine, generalized extreme
poverty in entire regions, and massive waves of
migration.
We
are living in an age characterized by a systemic
global crisis, affecting simultaneously all
economic, food, energy and water components.
In
addition to poverty, which takes a higher toll on
human lives than war, there is an increased risk
posed by serious diseases like the Ebola virus, an
epidemic which could become one of the worst
pandemics in history, if it is not stopped and
resolved in the affected sister nations of Western
Africa, through the immediate, effective cooperation
of all countries.
As
was recently stated by President Raúl Castro Ruz,
“Such a noble and urgent endeavor demands the
indispensable commitment and dedication of every
nation in the world, in accordance with the ability
of each. We are of the opinion that this grave
problem should not be politicized, to avoid the risk
of losing track of the main objective, which is
helping to confront the epidemic in Africa and
prevent its expansion to other regions.”
Thus
created is an unprecedented combination of problems,
old and new, leading toward making human life
unsustainable. None of these can be resolved if
there is no change in our attitude, in the manner in
which we confront and attempt to transform reality,
and establish genuine cooperation in the interest of
humanity’s survival.
As
was recently written by compañero Fidel Castro, “Any
conscious person knows that political decisions
which involve risks to highly qualified personnel
imply a high level of responsibility on the part of
those who call upon them to fulfill a dangerous
task. It is even more difficult than sending
soldiers, who have also done so as their duty, to
combat and die for a just political cause.
“The medical professionals who travel to any
location whatsoever to save lives, even at the risk
of losing their own, provide the greatest example of
solidarity a human being can offer
…”
Mr.
President:
It
is a fact that, in recent times, the economic,
commercial and financial blockade imposed by the
United States on Cuba has been tightened and that
its extraterritorial application in all regions of
the world has been intensified, in particular with
the levying of huge, unprecedented fines of some 11
billion dollars against 38 banks, among them the
French bank BNP Paribas, for processing transactions
with Cuba and other countries.
The
accumulated economic damages, which are huge for a
small economy like ours, amount to 1,112,534,000,000
dollars, estimated on the basis of the price of
gold, which is being manipulated by those who
created the nefarious monetary system currently in
force, and is being affected by the impact of an
insurmountable crisis, and batters the poorest
countries.
Human damages caused by the blockade are on the
rise. The number of Cubans who have been born under
these circumstances has already reached 77% of the
population. The hardships families face are
incalculable. There are many international
conventions which proscribe the blockade, including
the Geneva Convention of 1948 against genocide. The
exercise of human rights by an entire people is
being impaired. The economic development of the
country is seriously hampered.
Although our health and social care systems manage
to prevent the loss of human life, no honest person,
whether in the United States or the world, could
agree with the devastating consequences caused by
the blockade.
Despite all of this, our national culture, our
education and protection of equal rights and
opportunities, allow us to be a cultured and
fraternal nation.
Mr.
President:
On
both sides of the Florida Straits, the peoples of
the United States and Cuba have always shared close
ties.
Despite the systematic, slanderous campaigns
launched against our country over half a century,
the U.S. people supported the return to his family
of a Cuban child kidnapped in 1999.
Cuba
offered all possible assistance in the immediate
aftermath of the terrible terrorist actions occurred
on September 11, 2001, when thousands of aircraft in
flight were left without a place to land, and, later
on, to alleviate the deficit of antibiotics, at the
time of the anthrax attacks in the United States.
In
2005, truly concerned about the damage caused by
Hurricane Katrina, we offered our medical
cooperation to the people of New Orleans, a moment
that led to the creation of a medical contingent
specialized in the management of disasters and
epidemics - which bears the name of Henry Reeve, a
heroic young U.S. citizen who fought for the
independence of Cuba back in the 19th century - now
being deployed in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
This prestigious name identifies the brigade which
in 2005 assisted Pakistan in the aftermath of an
earthquake there, and continued to engage in
productive cooperation with the U.S. military
medical personnel, which had already begun in El
Salvador, after the earthquake of 2001, and later in
Guatemala in the 2002 and 2003, to treat
onchocerciasis, known as “river blindness.”
In
2010, after the earthquake in Haiti, the United
States and Cuba also cooperated to assist that
long-suffering nation.
The
Cuban Government has invariably shared with the U.S.
government reports on terrorist actions and attacks
against the United States being planned.
Despite the old tensions, and the attempts by
violent extremists and terrorist groups to inflame
these, there has been no war, no young U.S. soldier
has died in Cuba. Cuba, despite being slandered, has
never been a threat to the national security of the
United States.
There is no hostility between our peoples. Cuba
hospitably welcomes the few U.S. citizens who are
allowed by their government to visit our country, or
who face the legal risks which may result from doing
so, as well as those who come to offer humanitarian
assistance, such as members of “Pastors for Peace,”
or to study Medicine.
Well
known are opinion polls showing increasing majority
support from absolutely all sectors of U.S. society
for the lifting of the blockade, and normalization
of bilateral relations. Particularly noteworthy is
the fact that this support is even more marked in
Florida, something also confirmed by voting trends
observed during the most recent Presidential
elections.
Political figures from diverse tendencies, as well
as outstanding scholars, have recognized that this
policy has failed to meet its purpose, and has not
served the national interests of this powerful
country. Suffice it to read the editorials published
by The New York Times in recent weeks.
Religious leaders have cited legitimate and
indisputable ethical and humanitarian reasons for a
change.
U.S.
citizens are demanding the freedom to travel to the
only place on the planet where they are prohibited
from doing so, as well as for the right to receive
direct, personal information about Cuba’s reality.
Entrepreneurial organizations and business people
believe that the blockade harms their economic
interests. Majority public opinion is opposed to
maintaining the current state of affairs and is
expressing this in an ever more critical way.
Cuban émigrés have been affected by discriminatory
measures, and must cope with numerous obstacles
hindering family reunification, travel in both
directions, the excessive costs imposed on them,
political manipulation and even terrorist violence.
But the majority wishes peace and wellbeing for
their relatives and their people, and a normal
relation with their nation of origin.
What’s the point of encouraging the illegal use of
information technologies instead of authorizing
mutually beneficial business in the area of
telecommunications? What’s the point of preventing
Cuba’s connection to nearby underwater cables, thus
limiting and hindering our connectivity?
The
blockade is harmful to Cuba, but it is also harmful
to the United States.
The
absurd and ridiculous inclusion of Cuba on the list
of state sponsors of international terrorism, which
has been used to justify the imposition of
additional financial sanctions, only serves to
discredit the United States.
The
16 years of unjust imprisonment imposed by
fraudulent means on the three Cuban anti-terrorist
fighters has not weakened them. Quite on the
contrary, it made them heroes and an example for
future generations of Cubans, as well as a source of
pride for those whose sacrifices contribute to
paving the way toward a new Cuba.
The
decision to lift the blockade will be welcomed on a
global level, and will become a unifying influence
in the interest of peace and the peaceful resolution
of conflicts and differences.
After the limited but positive measures of 2009 and
2011 regarding family visits, remittances sent by
Cubans settled in the U.S. and travel licenses for
certain categories of U.S. citizens to engage in
exchanges of various sorts, the technical dialogue
has been expanded to include other aspects, and
cooperation has increased in areas such as the
confrontation of drug trafficking, transnational
crime, trafficking in persons, oil spill prevention,
search and rescue operations, air and aviation
safety, or in the event of any other specific
occurrence.
The
reaction on the part of U.S. society and the
international community to these modest advances has
been one of support and encouragement.
President Barack Obama has the constitutional
prerogative, with no Congressional support required,
to modify crucial aspects of the blockade and
introduce a new, decisive dynamic in our bilateral
relations.
Mr.
President:
We
invite the government of the United States to
establish a mutually respectful relationship, based
on reciprocity, sovereign equality, the principles
of international law and the UN Charter.
We
can attempt to find a solution to our differences
through respectful dialogue and cooperation in areas
of common interest. We can live and relate to each
other in a civilized manner, despite our
differences.
Cuba
will never renounce its sovereignty, or the path
freely chosen by its people to build a more just,
efficient, prosperous and sustainable socialism. It
will never forego its quest for a different
international order, nor cease in its struggle for
“the equilibrium of the world.”
Mr.
President;
Distinguished Permanent Representatives and
delegates;
At
this difficult and special conjuncture, I must ask
you to vote in favor of draft Resolution A/69/L.4
entitled “The necessity of ending the economic,
commercial and financial embargo imposed by the
United States of America on Cuba,” to support the
idea that the current serious problems facing
humanity require a change in our way of relating to
one another, to be able to resolve these problems,
to preserve peace and human life.
Thank you very much.
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