Cuba to Reaffirm Commitment to Regular, Orderly and Safe Migration

Cuba will reaffirm its commitment to the practice of regular, orderly and safe migration during the 15th Summit of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, to be held in Riohacha, Colombia, Deputy Foreign Minister Elio Rodríguez said today in Bogotá.

In exclusive remarks to Prensa Latina, the Cuban deputy foreign minister revealed that his country’s participation in this important event follows an invitation extended during the visit to Havana last July by Colombia’s current foreign minister, Rosa Villavicencio.

The diplomat stressed that migration is a high priority for Cuba.

“We are coming to this event to express Cuba’s positions, to defend the need to work and collaborate among all states to guarantee regular, orderly and safe migration, based on the principles of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and humanitarian law,” he said.

He emphasized that the Cuban delegation will also voice its rejection of what he described as politically motivated manipulation of the issue by the United States government, which, he underscored, uses migration as a tool of foreign policy pressure.

“Once again we will repudiate that stance of Washington, historically used as part of its policy against the Cuban Revolution,” he stated.

The Cuban delegation attending the forum also includes Ambassador to Colombia Javier Caamaño, Lourdes Gil, deputy head of the Directorate of Identification, Immigration and Aliens, and Félix Hechavarría, an official with the Directorate General of Consular Affairs and Attention to Cubans Living Abroad.

The meeting, set to begin tomorrow and conclude on the 4th, will be held under the theme “Regular migration, labor mobility and human rights: pillars of development and the well-being of societies.”

According to the Cuban Foreign Ministry, during the three-day forum states, governments, civil society, international organizations, business leaders and youth will put forward innovative and practical solutions to ensure human mobility that respects and protects the rights of migrants.