Cuba calls for political will for a fair and just future at United Nations General Assembly

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez, called on Sunday before the UN General Assembly (UNGA) for greater political will to address the structural and moral failures of the international system that prevent progress towards a fair future.

Speaking at the Summit of the Future, Cuba's foreign minister reviewed the challenges facing developing nations and the need for truly profound reforms to eliminate them.

“People need less interference and more solidarity; less unequal exchange and more equity; "Less politicization and double standards and more dialogue, cooperation and respect for their inalienable right to choose their political, economic, social and cultural system," he demanded.

Rodríguez recalled the challenges posed for his country by the hostile policy imposed by the US government, including the inclusion in the arbitrary and unilateral list of States that supposedly sponsor terrorism.

He insisted that this is the main obstacle to the well-being and development of the Caribbean nation.

At the same time, the planet suffers the effects of climate change without opulent societies putting a stop to the consumerism that generates it and without sufficient political will to channel the necessary funds for the Sustainable Development Goals or real debt relief.

The foreign minister insisted that for millions of people in the Global South, the possibility of a dignified future is and will continue to be a utopia.

“It will be difficult to believe in this promised future while developed countries oppose the profound reform of the international financial architecture, whose discussions should focus on the United Nations,” he said.

The head of Cuban diplomacy questioned: “If these claims have been diluted in the Pact of the Future, should we believe in the promises of greater access to the resources essential for our development?”

The foreign minister of the largest island of the Antilles spoke on the opening day of the Summit, which opened its doors on Sunday morning with the approval of the Pact of the Future, an ambitious UN project for a reform of global governance.

Despite the optimism surrounding the text, the main voices of the organization assure that true change will come with the actions and political will of the States, particularly the most powerful ones.