00:00 invite the distinguished representative of Nicaragua to take the floor.
00:20 Thank you very much, Mr. President.
00:25 We align ourselves with the statements made by the representatives of Cuba on behalf of
00:31 the G77 in China, Azerbaijan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, and San Vincente
00:39 and the Grenadines on behalf of the community of Latin American states, El Salvador on behalf
00:46 of the Central American integration system, and that made by Venezuela on behalf of the
00:52 group of friends in defense of the United Nations Charter.
00:56 We recognize and we thank the foreign minister of Cuba for being with us, Brother Bruno Rodriguez.
01:06 The imperialist powers continue to maintain and worsening the unilateral, illegal, coercive,
01:12 and arbitrary policy against sovereign peoples and governments, imposing their hegemonic interests
01:20 over the priorities of the international community.
01:24 They foment wars, blockades, sanctions, and defamatory campaigns.
01:31 These are contrary to international law, to the United Nations Charter, and the most basic
01:38 principles that should guide the relations of mutual respect, solidarity, dialogue, and
01:44 cooperation between states.
01:46 The peoples of the entire world have the right to exercise our national sovereignty, our
01:52 independence, moving forward in building and developing our own model of political, economic,
01:58 social, and cultural development, free from any interventions, threats, or aggressions
02:06 from abroad.
02:08 In the face of these perverse practices, our developing people are moving towards multipolarity,
02:16 confronting the destructive imperialism and neocolonialism, which tries to dominate the
02:22 planet and humanity.
02:24 And thus it is that humanity is creating the conditions to put an end to the imperial hegemony.
02:30 And in this spirit, with its own voice, with its own identity, dignity, and shared values,
02:36 the international community should move forward to better integration, rejecting and denouncing
02:43 all remnants of colonialism.
02:45 We are referring to the criminal, economic, commercial, and financial embargo which has
02:51 been imposed for more than 60 years on the Brotherhood Republic of Cuba and its unjustified
02:57 inclusion in the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
03:01 And it should be removed from that list.
03:04 The U.S. hegemony has imposed on the heroic people of Cuba an illegal blockade.
03:12 This heroic revolutionary brother has resisted for more than 60 decades and is continuing
03:18 to resist this corrosive blockade which violates its state institutions, limits its access
03:25 to financing for development, weakens its economy, and affects the full enjoyment of
03:31 all fundamental rights of an entire people.
03:36 Nicaragua, along with all developing countries, the international community as a whole, rejects
03:43 these illegal, unilateral, coercive measures.
03:49 And this dangerous and stifling blockade, Nicaragua condemns all the hostile policies
03:54 imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.
03:58 And the tracking down of financial transactions and commercial transactions and the impossibility
04:04 to issue non-immigrant visas in Havana, intimidation against companies that provide fuel to the
04:11 island, and the attempts to frustrate recovery of the tourist sector following the COVID-19
04:18 pandemic, and the campaign to discredit programs of medical cooperation of Cuba.
04:25 Just to mention a few, Cuba has demonstrated that since the 1st of March 2022 to the 28th
04:33 of February 2023, the blockade has caused damage to Cuba estimated to be $4.8 billion.
04:44 This represents an impact of more than $505 million per month, more than $13 million a
04:52 day, and more than $550,000 every hour of this blockade.
04:59 The accumulated damage over six decades of this policy has reached $150 billion, $84.3
05:09 million.
05:11 But even so, in the worst circumstances and the most criminal pressure, Cuba has been
05:16 able to overcome the severe COVID-19 pandemic with its own efforts and talents.
05:24 It is admirable that Cuba, thanks to its awareness and its fighting revolutionary spirit and
05:31 its socialist conviction and commitment with the world, and its unequaled example of international
05:38 solidarity, has supported 42 countries and territories in the pandemic since the COVID-19
05:48 pandemic was declared in May of 2020 until September 2022.
05:52 Fifty-eight Henry Reid Specialized Cuban Agent Brigades worked, and their members joined
06:01 more than 28,000 Cuban health professionals who were working in 66 nations as part of
06:09 the cooperation medical brigades sent by this brotherly country.
06:14 Cuba has been able to resist and establish initiatives so that its own efforts, together
06:22 with brother peoples in solidarity, can win this battle, because Cuba's battle is our
06:28 battle.
06:29 Cuba's victory is our victory.
06:33 We also congratulate our Cuban sisters and brothers for an excellent chairmanship of
06:40 the Group of G77 in China.
06:44 134 countries make up this Group of Countries of the Global South.
06:49 This is more than two-thirds of the member states of the United Nations, in which 80
06:57 percent of the global population lives.
07:03 And indeed, at the recent summit of the G77 in China, held in Havana, showed that they
07:10 have not been able to kill these imperialists and colonists of the world, have not been
07:16 able to kill the fighting spirit and the dignity of the peoples of the world.
07:21 Mr. President, the universal consensus of the peoples and government of the world has
07:26 demanded an end to this inhuman, illegal, and criminal blockade, which is cruel and
07:33 genocidal in nature.
07:35 It violates the human rights of an entire people, undermining the efforts of the courageous
07:41 Cuban people to implement their national plan of economic and social development for 2030,
07:49 as well as achieving the 2030 agenda and the sustainable development goals.
07:56 The government of the United States, by failing to implement the 30 resolutions of the General
08:02 Assembly, demonstrates its disrespect for international law, the United Nations Charter,
08:08 and the political will of the universal consensus of the international community, which demands
08:14 an end to this outdated policy against Cuba.
08:19 The clear objective of the empire has been to destroy Cuba, to destroy the socialist
08:24 model, which is fair, based on solidarity with its people and with the peoples of the
08:31 world.
08:32 The United States should begin a respectful dialogue to resolve the bilateral issues outstanding
08:38 with Cuba on the basis of the equality of states, reciprocity, respect for the sovereignty
08:45 and independence of Cuba.
08:48 Mr. President, we are fully convinced that international solidarity with Cuba will continue
08:55 to be effective and that the General Assembly will condemn today, once again, this criminal
09:01 embargo and all the extraterritorial measures which are being implemented against the dear
09:11 people of Cuba.
09:12 We hope that, once again, there will be the end of the double standards in this General
09:17 Assembly and that there will be respect for and implementation of the various UN resolutions
09:24 on this issue, that we put an end to this inhuman blockade against Cuba.
09:30 Nicaragua, as in previous years, will vote in favor of draft resolution A78/L5.
09:38 And today, this General Assembly will approve universally this resolution submitted by Cuba.
09:45 And in that way, we'll be defending multilateralism, the United Nations Charter, seeking to find
09:52 understanding, peaceful coexistence between nations, and promoting a culture of peace
09:58 that we all talk about and desire.
10:01 Thank you very much, Mr. President.
Comments