Press Release
New York, January 19th, 2022. At the quarterly open debate of the Security Council on the situation in Middle East, including the Palestinian question, the ambassador and permanent representative of Cuba to the United Nations, Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta, once again denounced the United States´ repeated blockage of the Security Council actions, which has allowed Israel’s impunity and prevented this organ from fulfilling its responsibility under the United Nations Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.
The Cuban ambassador also highlighted that the Security Council continues to fail to take action in order to stop the Israeli military aggression and occupation of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, in accordance with its resolution 2334 (2016).
Pedroso Cuesta lamented that after 74 years, Israel’s annexation policies of the occupied Palestinian territories are reinforced and its illegal colonizing practices are heightened, including the construction and expansion of settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, punitive demolitions, forced displacement of hundreds of civilians, blockade of the Gaza Strip and plans to annex the Palestinian territories in the Jordan Valley and other parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
During his remarks, Pedroso underscored that the unilateral decision of the United States government to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, to establish its diplomatic representation in that city, disrespecting its historical status, as well as recognizing the sovereignty of Israel over the Syrian Golan; constitute serious violations of the United Nations Charter, International Law and the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, and that on top of this, the current government of the United States has not reversed such decisions, which removes the possibility of a negotiated solution.
The diplomat reaffirmed Cuba’s unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and government, its support for the admission of the State of Palestine to full membership in the United Nations and the call of its President to hold an international peace conference.
In like manner, the island’s representative ratified his country’s unrestricted support for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “The Palestinian people must exercise their right to self-determination and to have an independent and sovereign state with the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and guaranteeing the right of return of refugees,” Pedroso stressed.
“Against the continual breaches of international law, including the use and threat of use of force in international relations, aggressions against sovereign states and interference in their internal affairs, Cuba will continue to advocate multilateralism, peace and full respect for the purposes and principles enshrined in the UN Charter,” he concluded.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations
