At the start of the annual session of the General Assembly, I would like to convey greetings to all countries of the United Nations. I greet the peoples and the Governments of the 194 countries that are present at this session of the General Assembly; in particular Mr. Abdulla Shahid, who assumed the Presidency of this year’s session of the General Assembly. I wish you every success.
The annual Assembly of the United Nations is an event, which, every September, brings together Heads of Government, Heads of State, Presidents, Prime Ministers and the world’s highest-ranking authorities, to discuss our positions and debate ideas in a world that must continue building a multipolar, pluricentric structure, without imperial hegemonism.
This is the second time that our General Assembly session is being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We find ourselves participating in this session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York from our countries — from our countries’ official Government headquarters.
I convey greetings to all Ambassadors and high-ranking officials who, from their countries and from headquarters in New York, amid the pandemic, share their views of what should obtain for humankind in the twenty-first century, leaving no room for doubt. They share their views about building a new world of peace, cooperation and dialogue, based on ideological, cultural, political and religious diversity and brings together the cultures of peoples across the whole of planet Earth.
Undoubtedly, it must mean building a new world and a new human community— a world without hegemonic empires; a world liberated from attempts at economic, financial, military, political domination by a hegemon, empire or those, who, for centuries upon centuries, plundered, dominated, exploited and oppressed the peoples of the world with the old rapacious colonialism. Today, they attempt new forms of neocolonialism against our people — new forms of domination, looting, oppression and exploitation of the peoples of the world.
That is why at a General Assembly affected by the pandemic and from the very heart of our beloved homeland, Venezuela raises its voice in support of a new world without colonialism; a new world without imperialism; a new world without a dominant hegemon; a new world based on sharing, cooperation and a human community with a shared destiny. It is the multipolar, pluricentric world we long for and the reason we join the fight by all peoples of the world and the peoples of the South, in particular, based on the doctrine of the Non-Aligned Movement, the South- South doctrine — our doctrine, our vision, our commitment.
Venezuela has received strong and majority support from the Governments of the world as we addressed our country’s challenges in recent years. There is no doubt that our people have received solidarity, support and cooperation from dozens of countries represented here at the United Nations. They were able to listen to the voice of truth from our earnest people.
On several occasions, Venezuela has taken to the United Nations General Assembly and organizations of the United Nations system to condemn the fierce attacks on and campaigns waged against our country by the elites that have governed the United States. Such attacks are perpetrated with the support of the elites that head organizations in Europe and elsewhere.
They sought to use international organizations and international law to justify fierce campaigns and criminal attacks against the noble, peaceful and democratic people of Venezuela. On several occasions, we denounced those attacks at the headquarters of various organizations, and we do so again today at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
At this session of the General Assembly, in September 2021, Venezuela denounces the fierce campaign and ongoing and systematic aggression, via cruel economic, financial and oil sanctions, persecution of our people and their right to economic freedom, and their economic rights and guarantees, which should be enjoyed by all peoples of the world.
There is a fierce campaign against our right to purchase what our country needs and against our right to sell what our country produces, in particular vast oil and mining resources, on Venezuelan territory, which we have exploited for decades. Financial accounts are being investigated; gold from the legal international reserves of the Central Bank of Venezuela in London has been seized and frozen, and billions of dollars in bank accounts in the United States, Europe and beyond have been confiscated and frozen.
Venezuelan oil and mining companies are banned from trading their products and opening bank accounts across the world for the purposes of making purchases, collecting payments and conducting business transactions freely, as stipulated under international law.
It is cruel and is, in essence, criminal and systematic financial, monetary, commercial, economic and energy persecution. Venezuela therefore raises its voice in condemnation of such persecution before the peoples of the world.
For years, we have faced threats, fierce campaigns and aggression. I can tell you today, from the heart of Caracas, which witnessed the birth of those who liberated America, that the Venezuelan people, with their great capacity for resilience and resistance, rose up. The year 2021 is a special and wonderful year in which we marked the 200th anniversary of the resounding victory of the Battle of Carabobo. We already celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo for our independence. In 2021, we have already moved from the cruel and painful phase of resistance to a phase of recovery and sustained growth with science, innovation, technology and the spiritual capacity of hardworking people, who refuse to yield. We are a rebellious and free people, who have grown from all the difficulties that have affected us over the years.
We have chosen the path of recovery and comprehensive growth for our nation. We have chosen to deploy the productive forces of a country subjected to an infernal blockade, criminal persecution and cruel torture of its economic and social fabric. We courageously and decisively say to the peoples of the world, with intelligence and wisdom, that it is possible to confront imperial aggression and move forward.
That is why we again demand the lifting of all criminal sanctions by the United States of America and by the Governments of the European Union against the Venezuelan economy and society. We demand it based on logical and moral grounds. We say it on behalf of 30 million Venezuelan men and women. We are grateful for the support of the countries of the United Nations in advancing this great objective of our country and our region.
I take this opportunity to reaffirm our solidarity with and our support for the Republic of Cuba and the people of Cuba, in their request, endorsed 27 times by a majority vote at the United Nations, for the immediate lifting of all trade and economic blockade measures against the Republic of Cuba and the people of Cuba. Venezuela also raises its voice in support of justice and out of solidarity with Cuba — a Republic and a heroic people.
In this regard, our country was able to face and overcome all these circumstances. That is why we believe it is necessary to circulate within the United Nations Secretariat, from the Presidency of the annual General Assembly to all levels of representative Embassies and Governments, the official findings of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, who made a seven-day visit to Venezuela this year. The Special Rapporteur issued a very objective, raw and realistic report on these criminal sanctions and recommended that they be lifted immediately and that international law, international humanitarian law, be respected. The Rapporteur also recommended that Venezuela’s right to freedom; its economic, commercial and financial guarantees and the full exercise of its rights as a sovereign member of the United Nations be respected.
In 2021, we also welcomed the fact that Venezuela is moving forward in two main directions — in inclusive dialogue towards peace in our country and in marking the twenty-ninth electoral process in the past 20 years. Major elections will be held on 21 November 2021 for the people to elect regional, municipal and local authorities, as mandated by our country’s Bolivarian Constitution.
This year, we started several rounds of dialogue with the business sector, the social sector, trade unions and the political arena. We reaffirmed the path of dialogue and recently launched, on 13 August, a national dialogue forum for peace and sovereignty in Mexico City.
It is a very important dialogue process that seeks out the most extremist opposition forces that attempted to carry out a coup d’etat in Venezuela. They encouraged foreign invasion of our lands and planned to assassinate me. We hoped that those extremist sectors would return to politics, the Constitution and the electoral path.
I can say to the United Nations that we have succeeded. We succeeded in having them return to politics, the Constitution and the electoral path. Now, with the support of the Government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico; the special diplomatic assistance of the Kingdom of Norway; the direct presence of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Netherlands, we are implementing a comprehensive agenda to bring about social and economic recovery in Venezuela through dialogue.
I thank the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, for his support in the dialogue process in Mexico. I request the full support of the United Nations to ensure that the dialogue process in Mexico advances towards new partial agreements and a global agreement to strengthen peace, sovereignty, prosperity and bring about comprehensive recovery in Venezuela. That is my request and I thank you. In that regard, Venezuela will remain in all international forums.
We stated in the organizations responsible for climate change that a practical, verifiable response is urgently needed for action against greenhouse gas emissions, global warming of the oceans and the environment and all climate change-related events and disasters. Verifiable and effective action measures are needed to halt the acceleration of the processes that undermine planet Earth’s ecological balance.
Over the years, and even, recently, in this city that is home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York, we have seen major flooding. We have seen simultaneous fires and flooding in India, China, New York, Spain and Venezuela. We have seen major drought in southern South America and the unprecedented drying up of the Parana River. Such events compel us to demand that powerful Governments take efficient and effective action to reduce global warming and greenhouse gas emissions and give hope to the world in the face of a truly worrisome and tragic situation for many people on planet Earth.
The United Nations system, without a doubt, the multilateral world and international law — it is these spaces that must be strengthened. It is the sovereignty of peoples in a courageous world, based on international law. A new world must be built. It is a new world that emerges from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and from the peoples of the United States of America. A new world is being reborn to put an end to old hegemons and to those that claim to police and judge the peoples of the world.
It is time for freedom, sovereignty and independence to reign. A new world needs a new United Nations so that we can all share life and solidarity and the just and necessary path of a new community — the new world.
Venezuela raises its own voice in support of that new world.
Thank you very much, dear rulers of the world.
Thank you very much to all the peoples and authorities of the United Nations.
Thank you very much.