As President Hugo Chávez said in his brilliant
statement, only four days ago the Fourteenth Summit
of the Non-Aligned Movement, held in Cuba,
concluded. Today I speak on behalf of the Movement’s
Chairman, President Fidel Castro, fulfilling our
obligation to inform the Assembly of the main
decisions agreed at the summit conference in Havana.
As First Vice-President of the Council of State
and Minister of the Republic of Cuba, Raúl Castro,
said in his opening speech:
“The current international situation, characterized
by the one super-Power’s irrational attempts to
control the world, aided by its allies, shows that
we need to be increasingly united in defence of
the principles and purposes upon which the Non-
Aligned Movement was established, which are
those enshrined in international law and the
Charter of the United Nations.”
While the founding of the Movement was
necessary more than four decades ago, its continued
relevance in today’s world is beyond doubt. The
summit held in Cuba was an indisputable success, in
spite of the threats and pressures of those who oppose
the unity and common efforts of the countries of the
south. The summit saw high levels of participation, in
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terms both of the number of countries attending the
conference and of the attendance of heads of State or
Government. Profound and fruitful debates were held
in an atmosphere of true understanding, unity and
cohesion, which allowed for the adoption of documents
of crucial importance to the role of the Non-Aligned
Movement.
As the new Chairman, Cuba was given clear
mandates and an action programme that will govern its
activities as head of the Movement. As a result of the
summit, the Non-Aligned Movement has been
strengthened and consequently so has the political
unity of the countries of the South. The diverse and
heterogeneous nature of the Movement’s membership,
far from weakening it, constitutes its essential strength.
These features have allowed for the creation of solid
consensus that will be a positive contribution to our
efforts to overcome the many and serious challenges
humanity faces today. The commendable work of
Malaysia as the Movement’s Chairman over the past
three years was acknowledged at the Summit. There
was no cause or demand by a country of the south
which was not duly considered or which did not meet
with the support of the Movement.
Progress in the defence of multilateralism,
demanding respect for the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of all States, and ensuring the full realization
of our peoples’ right to development and peace were
ratified at the Summit as the Movement’s principles,
whose implementation was urgently needed. The Heads
of State or Government decided to work to suppress
acts of aggression or other actions contrary to the
preservation of peace and to encourage the peaceful
settlement of international disputes.
The summit called on all nations to abstain from
the use of force or from threatening to use force against
the territorial integrity or independence of any State.
Participating nations promoted the development of
relations of friendship based on respect for the
principle of equal rights and the will of all peoples to
struggle against foreign occupation. They urged nations
to extend international cooperation with a view to
overcoming the serious economic, social, cultural and
humanitarian challenges that face the world and to
promoting respect for the human rights and
fundamental liberties of all for the benefit of all. The
fundamental and inalienable right of all peoples to self-
determination was reaffirmed in Havana. The non-
aligned countries agreed that world peace and security
are today more imperilled than ever as a result, among
other factors, of the growing trend of the most
powerful States to resort to unilateral measures and to
the threat of pre-emptive wars.
The Movement’s commitment to general and
complete disarmament, and nuclear disarmament in
particular, under strict and efficient international
monitoring, was underscored. The summit also
reaffirmed the basic and inalienable right of all States
to research, develop, produce and use nuclear energy
for peaceful purposes and to be free from any kind of
discrimination in this connection, in conformity with
their respective international obligations. Similarly, the
summit clearly and firmly pronounced itself to be
against terrorism, double standards in international
relations, coercive unilateral measures against any
nation, regime-change policies, and the failure of
developed countries to fulfil their commitments in
economic and social areas.
The heads of State or Government reaffirmed
their hope to live in a peaceful world in which all
nations have the right to a better future and a fair and
equitable world order based on the sustainable
development of all nations. They affirmed that in its
current form globalization perpetuates and even
exacerbates the marginalization of the countries of the
south and demanded that it be radically transformed
into a positive force for change for the benefit of all
peoples.
The participants reaffirmed the right of the
Palestinian people to have their own State, and
condemned the Government of Israel for the new wave
of crimes and massacres in Gaza and other occupied
territories. They also vigorously condemned Israel’s
merciless acts of aggression against Lebanon and the
serious violations of that nation’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
The people and Government of Bolivia, facing
attempts to destabilize the country instigated by
external forces, received a gesture of support and
solidarity from the summit. The process under way in
that sister nation, aimed at guaranteeing the real rights
of all Bolivians and at securing full national control
over the country’s natural resources, was offered solid
support.
The Movement considered with great concern the
aggressive policies and intensification of action aimed
at undermining the stability of the Bolivarian Republic
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of Venezuela and expressed support for the inalienable
right of the Venezuelan people to determine its form of
government and choose its economic, political and
social system, free from foreign intervention,
subversion, coercion or restrictions of any kind. The
non-aligned undertook to promote and participate in a
true process of democratization and reform of the
United Nations so as to leave behind the anti-
democratic impositions and practices of the Security
Council and to give the General Assembly its due
decisive role, in conformity with the roles and powers
described in the United Nations Charter.
I have mentioned only a few examples of the
positions adopted at the summit held in Havana with
respect to the most diverse issues on the international
agenda. The documents adopted will be officially
distributed to all United Nations Member States. A
number of the decisions adopted at the summit will
soon be put into practice at this session of the General
Assembly.
Cuba is aware of the immense responsibility
inherent in presiding over the Non-Aligned Movement
at one of the most difficult times in human history,
when we face more inequality and injustice than ever
before. We shall not rest in our efforts to have the
Movement occupy the place it can and must occupy in
the international arena, in keeping with not only its
broad membership of 118 countries — nearly two
thirds of the membership of the United Nations — but
also its history of acting on behalf of the loftiest
causes.
Inaugurating the Sixth Summit of the Non-
Aligned Movement in Havana 27 years ago, President
Fidel Castro said:
“The struggle for peace and for a just economic
order and a workable solution to the pressing
problems that weigh on our peoples is, in our
opinion, increasingly becoming the main question
posed to the Movement of Non-Aligned
Countries. Peace and the immense risks that
threaten it, is not something that should be left
exclusively in the hands of the big military
Powers. Peace is possible, but world peace can
only be assured to the extent that all countries are
consciously determined to fight for it — peace,
not just for a part of the world, but for all
peoples.”
A few days later in this same Hall, reporting on that
summit, President Castro said:
“The sounds of weapons, of threatening language,
and of arrogant behaviour in the international
arena must cease. We have had enough of the
illusion that the problems of the world can be
solved by nuclear weapons. Bombs may kill the
hungry, the sick, and the ignorant, but they cannot
kill hunger, disease or ignorance. Nor can they
kill the righteous rebellion of the peoples.”
The countries of the South will work united for
justice, peace and the development of our nations and
the entire world, convinced that a better world is
possible if we all struggle for it.
I should now like to say a few words on behalf of
the people and Government of Cuba. Our people’s
exercise of its right to self-determination faces new
threats. The Bush Administration has stepped up its
brutally hostile measures against Cuba with new
economic sanctions that further intensify what is
already the longest blockade human history has known.
More severe reprisals are also being taken against
those from other nations who have business dealings
with Cuba, and financial transactions with our country
are viciously persecuted. The very Government of the
United States recognizes that it is spending more today
in persecuting and punishing those who have business
dealings with Cuba than in monitoring the finances of
those who attacked the twin towers.
This past June the Bush Administration approved
the second version of its most recent plan of aggression
and domination against our country, aimed not only at
overthrowing the revolution but also at destroying the
Cuban nation. In violation of international norms and
laws, an unprecedented build-up of financial and
material support for subversive actions aimed at
overthrowing the constitutional order freely chosen by
the Cuban people is being promoted. That anti-Cuban
plan contains a chapter that is being kept secret.
The precedents for these decisions are the covert
actions undertaken against the Cuban revolution, which
include mercenary invasions, terrorist actions, the
introduction of plagues and epidemics to the country,
and more than 600 plots to assassinate Fidel.
Thousands of Cubans have lost their lives or been
maimed for life as a result of this criminal policy. As
the height of hypocrisy and irresponsibility, the
Government of the United States tolerates the presence
of, and protects, the terrorists who plan new actions
against our people on United States soil. While
manoeuvring to free the murderers responsible for
monstrous crimes — such as the notorious
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international terrorist and CIA agent Luis Posada
Carriles, whom they refuse to extradite to Venezuela —
the United States Government is illegally and unjustly
keeping five courageous anti-terrorist Cuban activists
in prison.
In spite of all these acts of aggression and the
criminal blockade, the Cuban people will never be
defeated. Cuba’s internationalist efforts continue
unhindered. More than 30,000 Cuban doctors and other
Cuban health professionals are saving lives in 68
different countries today. We are participating in the
struggle against illiteracy on several continents. We are
developing a plan to train 100,000 doctors for the third
world, and we are helping hundreds of thousands of
people in many countries to regain their sight through
Operation Miracle. With these efforts we are just
fulfilling our fundamental duty in solidarity to aid all
the peoples of the world.
Cuba is making progress and will continue to
advance and face the future with optimism and unity.
Its educated and hard-working people, who consider
humanity to be their homeland, will struggle hand in
hand with the peoples the Assembly represents for the
right to live in peace, justice and dignity for all.