Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Havana, October 27.- Gerardo Peñalver Portal, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba and permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the provision of urgent humanitarian aid and enough for the Palestinian people.
Cuba will support and contribute in everything within its power to legitimate international efforts in order to put an end to the massacre that has been going on for 20 days, he stated when speaking at the resumption of the Tenth Extraordinary Period of Emergency Sessions of the General Assembly of the UN, in New York.
Due to its importance, we publish below, in full, the intervention of Ambassador Peñalver Portal, published on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba.
Mr. President:
We have followed with great dismay and shock the serious events in the Middle East. In this context, Cuba supports the resumption of this tenth special emergency session.
The highest priority of the General Assembly at this time must be to achieve an end to the violence and the provision of urgent and sufficient humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.
We demand an immediate ceasefire and demand an end to war rhetoric. It is imperative to avoid the forced displacement of Palestinians from the land that rightfully belongs to them.
Cuba reiterates its deep concern about the escalation of violence on the ground, a consequence of 75 years of Israeli practices of illegal occupation and colonization, in flagrant violation of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in their own territory. It is also a result of the long-standing disregard for the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and International Law, including numerous relevant UN resolutions.
In the midst of the current humanitarian catastrophe in the occupied Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Cuba reiterates its invariable solidarity with the Palestinian and Arab cause.
We condemn, in the strongest terms, the killings of civilians, especially women, children and United Nations humanitarian workers; the indiscriminate bombings against the population in Gaza and the destruction of homes, hospitals and civil infrastructure.
Cuba rejects, and has always rejected, the death of civilians and innocent people from all parties involved in this conflict, without differentiating ethnicity, nationality or religious faith, as the esteemed Vice Prime Minister of Jordan mentioned in his speech on behalf of the Arab Group.
We also condemn the deprivation of water, food, electricity and fuel services to the population of Gaza, which considerably worsens the precarious humanitarian situation resulting from the blockade of the Gaza Strip, and constitutes a flagrant violation of International Humanitarian Law.
Nothing can justify such actions, which constitute collective punishment, serious violations of International Humanitarian Law and war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The impunity with which the Israeli government acts can only be explained by its confidence that it will not be held accountable for its actions and that it has the support of the United States government.
It is shameful that, once again, the Security Council has been unable to fulfill its mandate.
It is regrettable that the United States has vetoed 46 resolutions in the Security Council related to the situation in the Middle East, including on the Palestinian question, the most recent just a few days ago.
Double standards, selectivity and political manipulation, which undermine the cause of international peace and security, must end
We demand that the United States government not continue to paralyze the Security Council, using the undemocratic and obsolete power of veto, to protect the excesses of the Occupying Power.
It is time for the Security Council to play its role and enforce its own resolutions on the Palestinian question.
We reiterate, once again, our strong rejection of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, together with Israel's illegal annexation policy and all its colonizing practices. We condemn the latent plans to annex the Palestinian territories of the Jordan Valley and other parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
We request to urgently mobilize, under the coordination of the United Nations, emergency humanitarian aid to address the catastrophic situation in Gaza. We call on all parties involved to facilitate the entry and distribution of this indispensable humanitarian aid.
We call on Member States to ensure sufficient, predictable and sustained funding for the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East. It is now more important than ever to provide all possible support to the Agency so that it can carry out its important work on the ground.
We emphasize the urgent need for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the creation of two independent States, which allows the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and to have an independent and sovereign State within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and that also guarantees the right of return for refugees.
Cuba will support and contribute in everything within its power to legitimate international efforts in order to put an end to the massacre that has been going on for 20 days.
Every moment of inaction will cost more innocent lives. We must act without delay.
Thank you very much (ACN with information from Cubaminrex/ isiónCubaONU) (Photo taken from the internet)
