Cuba Demands Urgent Ceasefire for Gaza at the United Nations

Havana, March 4 (ACN) Cuba’s permanent representative at the United Nations office in Geneva Juan Antonio Quintanilla called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the access of humanitarian aid to that territory.

In his remarks at the 55th Session of the Human Rights Council, the Cuban diplomat reiterated the need to find a fair and long-lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which guarantees the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to build their own state withing the borders set up before 1967, with East Jerusalem as their city capital.

We cannot stay indifferent in the face of the humanitarian catastrophe and the genocide affecting the Palestinian people, which is the consequence of more than 75 years of Israel’s colonial rule and impunity.

The Cuban diplomat denounced the impact of unilateral coercive measures on human rights, particularly the measures related to the US economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba, and the inclusion of the island nation on the US list of states sponsors of terrorism.

“The (US) blockade is a flagrant and systematic violation of the rights of the Cuban people and the major hurdle for our development,” the ambassador said.

Quintanilla also reiterated Cuba’s rejection of the manipulation of huma rights issues related to countries like China, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, Iran , Syria, Belarus and Russia.