Cuba rejects double standards and manipulation of human rights

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 4 (ACN) Cuba rejected today at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, the double standards and selectivity in the treatment of the issue of human rights with respect to the current conflict in Ukraine.

Prior to the vote on a Draft Resolution on that eastern European country, Juan Antonio Quintanilla, Cuba's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, stressed that his country defends International Law and the United Nations Charter, key elements for small countries against hegemonism, abuses of power and injustice.

Cuba has always rejected selectivity, double standards, and the manipulation of human rights for political purposes; it is an issue we know well, our country is a direct victim of these unacceptable practices, he said.

Quintanilla considered that the draft resolution presented violates the basic principles of respectful dialogue, non-selectivity and non-politicization that should guide the work of the Human Rights Council, where a resolution with a strong inequality on the situation in Ukraine was approved.
It is a biased text, he said, that does not respond to genuine concerns about the human rights situation in Ukraine, much less offer solutions to promote the effective exercise of those rights, without exclusions.

Assigning responsibilities to only one of the parties involved is, to say the least, a partial and incomplete approach to the issue, which we cannot support, the diplomat stressed.

Cuban official underlined country will continue to advocate for a diplomatic solution to the current crisis in Europe, by peaceful means, which guarantees the security and sovereignty of all, the effective exercise of human rights, peace and regional and international security.

It regretted the loss of innocent lives and pointed out that the island has had and continues having a close relationship with the Ukrainian people.

The Draft Resolution on Ukraine presented at the Human Rights Council agreed by 32 votes in favor, two against and 13 abstentions to urgently create an independent commission to investigate what is happening in the conflict.