Cuba announces initiatives at Human Rights Council sessions

HAVANA, Cuba, February 10 (ACN) Roberto Cabañas Vázquez, Cuba's representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, addressed the organizational meeting of the 61^st session of the Human Rights Council, held on Monday, to present three draft resolutions promoted by the Cuban delegation, according to a post on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cubaminrex.

 Below is the full text of Mr. Cabañas’s intervention.

 Mr. President:

 The Cuban delegation reiterates its support for you and wishes you and the other members of the Bureau every success in carrying out your duties. We welcome the new members of the Council and assure them that Cuba is willing to work cooperatively and constructively with everyone.

The 61st session of the Council will take place in a complex international context.

The multilateral system and its institutions are under direct attack. The United States has withdrawn from this and many other bodies, as they intend to impose a new international order by replacing the rule of law with the right to force.

The brutal military attack against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are further examples of the United States government's intention to push the world into anarchy by launching an unprecedented and aggressive escalation against Cuba, aimed at ruthlessly punishing our entire population, in flagrant violation of their human rights.

They have gone so far as to threaten trade tariffs on countries that provide oil to Cuba as they try to make the international community complicit in an energy blockade of our nation, using as an excuse the absurd assertion that Cuba constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security of the United States.

 The objective of this draconian unilateral coercive measure is to paralyze the country's economic and social activity and cause suffering to millions of Cubans. The Human Rights Council cannot remain silent in the face of these criminal acts.

Mr. President:

 At the 61st session of the Council, Cuba will present three draft resolutions.

The text on “The consequences of the foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights” will focus on the technical updating of this important mandate, which helps to highlight the impact of the foreign debt on the realization of human rights, including the right to development.

We will also present the draft resolution “Right to Food,” whose mandate is a significant contribution from the Council to addressing food insecurity, hunger and extreme poverty and supporting the efforts of developing countries in food production and the promotion of sustainable food systems.

 Finally, the draft resolution “Promoting the enjoyment of cultural rights for all and respect for cultural diversity” will stress the importance of respecting national and regional particularities, as well as historical, cultural and religious diversity within and among States, regardless of their political and economic systems.

 The Cuban delegation is ready to work constructively, transparently, and inclusively with all delegations and civil society organizations on these three proposals, and we thank you in advance for your valuable support.

 Thank you very much.