Cuba reaffirms commitment to multilateralism at the UN

Cuba reaffirmed its commitment to multilateralism and global governance on Tuesday, and reiterated its attachment to working with the international community to guarantee peaceful coexistence and preserve peace.
 
In his speech at the opening debate of the United Nations Security Council on the topic “Putting Multilateralism into Practice, Reforming and Improving Global Governance,” Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío referred to the current international situation.

A situation characterized by serious and growing threats to international peace and security and a progressive erosion of multilateralism, he said.

In this regard, he mentioned the withdrawal of the world’s biggest power from international organizations, with absolute disregard for multilateralism; and its support and participation, without ethical or moral qualms, in the expansion of genocide against the Palestinian people.

The Cuban diplomat also referred to plans for land usurpation, ethnic cleansing and annexation; the rise of racist and supremacist ideology; the violation of environmental agreements to favor transnational corporations, without taking into account the risks to the sustainability of life on our planet.

In such a scenario, Fernández de Cossío reaffirmed the importance of the role of the United Nations and described as essential the full respect for the principles and purposes of the UN Charter and the norms of international law in the face of the unprecedented challenges being faced by the international community.

For this reason, he urged to undertake profound transformations at the UN, which will allow progress towards a democratic, fair, equitable world order that respects the sovereign equality of the States, for the benefit of present and future generations.

The deputy foreign minister also condemned Cuba’s inclusion on Washington’s arbitrary and unilateral list of alleged sponsors of terrorism, “an instrument of coercion and an act of aggression, which provokes the repudiation of the international community,” he emphasized.

Fernández de Cossío rejected the enforcement of unilateral coercive economic measures as a way to achieve foreign policy objectives, and warned that “as long as punitive approaches against developing countries do not cease, there can be no talk of real and inclusive multilateralism for all.”

At the proposal of China, which chairs the Security Council this month, a meeting dedicated exclusively to multilateralism, led by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, was held.

Nearly eight decades later, the UN remains the world’s leading multilateral organization, harmonizing and coordinating international action in areas ranging from peacekeeping to economic development and trade.