ANNEX 1.- STATEMENT BY THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA, AFTER THE ELECTIONS OF MEMBERS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (9 May 2006).

“A resounding victory over the empire and irrefutable proof of Cuba's international prestige".

Cuba was elected today to sit on the Human Rights Council, a body that was recently established to replace the discredited Commission on Human Rights. Cuba’s candidacy received the support of 135 out of the 191 UN Member States. The United States failed in its objective to prevent Cuba from taking her seat in the most important specialized body dealing with human rights matters in the United Nations system.

Once again, international support for Cuba has been confirmed, both in her denunciation and resistance in the face of the super-power’s pretensions of imperial domination, and in the war she wages every day together with the countries of Africa, Asia, Latin American and the Caribbean, and all those who have made the defence of peace, justice, development, equity and solidarity their quest. It was these countries, the majority of them from the South, and those who are appreciative of the active efforts our country takes on in the defence of causes common to all our peoples, who made possible the presence of Cuba on the Human Rights Council as a founding member.

The numbers of those supporting Cuban candidacy surpassed even the two-thirds marks of UN Member States. Even if the United States had been successful in demanding that any candidate aspiring to a position on the Human Rights Council, created last March, would have to be supported by the majority of two-thirds of UN General Assembly Member States, Cuba would still have been elected.

Following the resounding response of unity and strength shown by the Cuban people last May 1st when the Bush administration announced its decision to tighten even further its policy of hostility, blockade and aggression against Cuba, the result of these elections to the Human Rights Council confirms that the international community rejects the Empire’s pretensions of denying the Cuban people full enjoyment of their legitimate rights to independence and self-determination.

The election of Cuba to the new UN human rights body corroborates, moreover, the generalized discrediting of the anti-Cuban practices that the U.S. promoted in the Commission on Human Rights over the last two decades.

This result demonstrates as well that the government of Washington cannot exclude or condemn Cuba in any international forum when conditions exist for countries to exercise their vote freely in a secret ballot, answering only to the dictates of their own conscience and expressing their sovereign will.

The defeat of the empire has been two-fold. Added to Cuba’s election is the fact that the government of George W. Bush will not be able to occupy a seat among the ranks reserved for the 47 members of the Human Rights Council.

Faced with the fear of receiving a punishment vote by the international community as a response to its violations of the most basic of human rights, and to its repudiation of multilateralism and the international laws which sustain it, the United States was not even able to present its candidacy for membership in the Council.

It must be remembered that the election is by secret ballot and, even though this is another case in which the American government resorts to its usual pressure and blackmail in order to achieve its goals, the level of effectiveness of these appears to be greatly diminished.

It is timely to remember that the United States was excluded during 2002 from membership in the Commission on Human Rights –that will be buried next June in order to clear the way for the first session of the Human Rights Council- in reply to its political manipulation of the workings of that body; one of its most well-known examples was the imposition of its spurious anti-Cuban practices. To ensure that the empire would win a seat in the Commission next year and to avoid being humiliated again in a competitive scrutiny, those ever-faithful Bush toadies, the now defenestrated Messers. Aznar and Berlusconi, withdrew the candidacies of their respective countries to join the Commission, allowing for the endorsement of Yankee hopes.

As a pretext for backing up their decision to no longer present themselves for a seat on the new body, Bush administration spokesmen now expressed their desire to be consistent with their negative vote last March, when the creation of the Human Rights Council was being decided. In this way, they attempted to cover up their fear of the possibility, quite real in fact, of a new defeat in the super-power’s candidacy attempts to become a member of the UN’s main human rights body, part of an especially complicated situation, marked by the growing unpopularity of the White House’s main tenant.

At the time of announcing their decision not to aspire to membership on the Council “at this moment”, the US clearly indicated that it would be working to oppose entry into the body of several countries that are on the front lines of resistance to imperialism’s hegemonic and global domination plans. Cuba, of course, was from the outset identified as being among the prioritized countries whose candidacies would be sabotaged and would have to be defeated. In Washington, New York, Geneva and many capital cities in every region of the world, representatives of the Bush administration exerted various forms of pressure to counter Cuba’s legitimate aspirations.

In actions opposing Cuban candidacy, the US once again counted upon subordination and the conspirational support of many in the European Union and in the immense majority of other nations that share or simply receive the crumbs of shared privileges derived from the current unjust international order. Frightened by the consequences that might befall them if they were bold enough to block a formula that would ensure the safe election of the author of their paltry interests and the defender of its excluding ideology, the vast majority of nations in the European Union closed ranks trying to block the entry into the Council of those nations identified on the “black” list that had been prepared by the US State Department; Cuba held the honour of occupying a vanguard position on this list.

There were even those close allies and empire pawns who vehemently worked within the European Union in order to make sure that their members would publicly espouse as their own, the “black” list of candidates that had been prepared by Washington.

Within this humiliating submissive behaviour, the Czech Republic once again stood out; her authorities did not let any opportunity slip by to add a strange tone and sad visibility to her status as paid puppet of the imperialist circles of power in the United States and even the anti-Cuban Miami terrorist mafia.

On this occasion, there were also a few lackey Latin American governments –the peoples of our region have seen to it in their struggle that there are fewer of these every day- who responded solicitously to the demands of the State Department officials that they refuse support for Cuba’s candidacy.

The Cuban people have achieved an important success. This, however, must not be interpreted as a guarantee for future neutralization of US anti-Cuban activity in the Council. The empire will continue counting on the presence of lackeys in the new body who will be ready to fulfil the anti-Cuban mission which will be dictated to them from Washington.

The solitary opposition of the United States –solely accompanied by those who voted against the resolution which demands cessation of the unilateral blockade on Cuba, namely Israel, Palau and the Marshall Islands- to the methods decided upon for the creation of a body that will replace the Commission on Human Rights, was not motivated by an eventual decrease in its capacity for continuing to impose unjust and politically motivated resolutions against the countries of the South. Its opposition vote may only be explained by the insane imperial arrogance that characterizes the international behaviour of today's Republican administration.

The US had voted against the resolution that gave birth to the Council, because it was not able to ensure for itself a permanent presence in its membership and because, in spite of all the behind-the-scenes efforts of its allies to look after its interests, it failed to impose its sought after requirements for automatically excluding countries such as Cuba from the body; these nations that raise their voices to denounce and resist attempts to politically and ideologically dominate the peoples of the Third World.

As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement of last 28 February stated, the draft resolution which would finally be adopted in order to establish the mandate, the composition, the functions and the working methods of the Human Rights Council, made room for many of the strategic interests of the US and its industrialized allies. The Council was created, sacrificing important claims made by the nations of the South, which had been defended and which counted on the support of the majority during the entire negotiation process.

Eliminated from the adopted text were both the determination to offer prioritized attention to the execution of the right to development, in the new body, of all the peoples of the world, and the claim to establish clear non-discriminatory criteria that would see an end of selectivity and double standards in the presentation of resolutions regarding nations. Raising the magnitude and the spectre of possible sanctions against the countries of the South within the Council’s functions, and also with the goal of satisfying the empire’s claims, a so-called suspension clause was included, allowing the withdrawal, at any time, of the rights of countries elected as members of the Human Rights Council. As it must be remembered, Cuba’s vote in favour of the draft resolution that permitted the creation of said body was accompanied by a declaration expressing serious reservations relating to all of these elements.

The credibility crisis of the Commission on Human Rights, a determining factor in its replacement by the Council, was a direct consequence of the political determination of the US and its principle allies to manipulate the work of the Commission as a function of their domination interests. If this imperialist inclination and behaviour were to persist in the future, and everything indicates that they will, all the Human Rights Council will have to offer is more of the same.

As soon as the Council was created, Cuba made its candidacy for membership official. Our people do not fear challenges and we know how to fight even in very complicated scenarios that may bring adverse results. Despite the risks derived from the forms decided upon for the creation of the Council, Cuba always saw the need to be part of the new body and to work in her position so that the Council’s tasks could be channeled towards genuine international cooperation in the matter of human rights. Cuba shall be present on any international stage open to non-discriminatory participation of all parties interested in cooperation and dialogue, on the basis of the strict observance of the sovereign equality of all states.

Cuba would like to express her sincere appreciation to all the governments that resolutely supported her aspirations to be a part of the Human Rights Council. To all of them, and to all of the peoples and individuals who fight in this world for the triumph of justice and the restoration of truth, Cuba promises to never give up in her efforts to make the Human Rights Council the body that will call for the great majority of humanity to finally achieve an answer for their needs and their vindication, so many times neglected and betrayed.

If the US and other industrialized powers were able to sequestrate the Council’s labours and turn it into a new inquisitional tribunal to punish the peoples of the South and demonize the many just causes being espoused on our planet, Cuba would, without a shadow of a doubt, once again take up her position to denounce and resolutely fight against those who, lacking principles and reason, resort to force, to confrontation and to lies.

Cuba will honour the expression of confidence of all those who share the conviction that those who fight for freedom and justice will reign victorious. Cuba will discharge with dignity the mandate that has been entrusted her by those who supported her candidacy to the Council and who made this resounding victory of her heroic people possible.

Havana, 9 May, 2006.