New York, 24 January 2022. When delivering his statement today under item 115: Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the United Nations, the ambassador and permanent representative of Cuba, Pedro Luis Pedroso Cuesta, reiterated his country’s support for the efforts of Secretary-General, António Guterres, and thanked him for his role in providing continuity to the work of the Assembly amid the challenging conditions posed by the pandemic.
Mr. Pedroso considered that the Secretary-General’s report reflected the significance of the United Nations, the validity of the purposes and principles enshrined in its founding Charter, as well as the need to strengthen multilateralism, international cooperation and solidarity.
In his speech, he underscored that despite the will and efforts of developing countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda, they still face many challenges, compounded by the manifold effects of the global pandemic, which reaffirms, he stressed, the importance of fulfilling the commitments in terms of financing and official development assistance, international cooperation, technology transfer, and capacity building and promotion as complements to the efforts made by developing countries.
The Ambassador highlighted that the maintenance of international peace and security will only be possible with the absolute respect for the political, economic and social system chosen by the peoples, in exercise of their sovereignty and right to self-determination and the non-interference in internal affairs. He added that the application of unilateral coercive measures has been even more evident within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At this point during his speech, Pedroso condemned the criminal and genocidal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against the island for six decades, as a flagrant, massive and systematic violation of the human rights of Cubans and the main hindrance to progress which hampers the response to the challenges associated with the pandemic towards the country´s sustainable development.
Nevertheless, Cuba continues to move forward, the unity and determination of its people is amplified against obstacles and challenges, as evidenced by the unobjectionable headways made in the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda, and the stunning immunization data showing 87 percent of the population fully vaccinated against COVID-19, concluded the diplomat.
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations
