"Cuba reaffirms the validity of the principles of humanity, neutrality and imparciality".Declaration at ECOSOC

Statement by the Delegation of the Republic of Cuba.
Substantive Session of ECOSOC, Humanitarian Affairs Segment
Ambassador Rodney López, Charge d’Affairs a.i.
New York, 14 July 2004

Mr. Vice-President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates and colleagues,

Firstly, allow us to express our appreciation to you and the rest of the participants in previous meetings for the information and analysis offered to the delegations on the different aspects characterizing the humanitarian role of the United Nations System.

Mr. Vice-President,

Unfortunately, we continue to face the reality of a world characterized by inequality, increasing threats and obstacles to peace and development, where humanitarian crisis proliferate and there is still lack of will among those who can mobilize resources to palliate its consequences.

Within an international system marked by unipolarity and the exercise of hegemony by means of the “pre-emptive” use of armed forces, Cuba reaffirms the validity of the principles of humanity, neutrality and impartiality enshrined in General Assembly Resolution 46/182.

The sensitive issue of the aid needed for thousands of people cannot serve as a pretext to the introduction of doubtful concepts, which rewrite international law and undermine respect for state sovereignties, under interventionist interests of a small group of very powerful countries.

The responsibility to protect, humanitarian intervention and other similar definitions, far from promoting international peace and security, which are so necessary for developing countries, only make more acute the contradictions and make inter-State relations more complicated.

As to the rest, those promoting that Agenda, make silence, look aside or in the worst of the cases, act as accomplices when one of them, flagrantly and with total impunity, violates International Humanitarian Law and several of the provisions of international human rights instruments.

In this segment, nothing or very little has been spoken about in this regard. As if nothing had occurred; as if numerous cases of arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial executions, tortures, sexual abuses and other treatments or cruel sentences on detainees had not been broadly documented, within the framework of the so-called war against terrorism.

It is simply unrealistic to expect that some local populations receive affectionately the “humanitarian actions” from the same forces carrying out unilateral aggressions, using false reasons as a pretext.

These considerations should be taken more seriously by those who propose and promote the so-called integrated missions. If humanitarian assistance shall be independent, neutral and impartial, then according to those principles, its coordination shall not be related or subordinated in any way to occupying military activity.

Furthermore, the increasing use of mercenaries, through private enterprises taking part in security activities, is of additional concern to the already tense humanitarian situation in several places of the world.

Strict respect of the UN Charter and that of International Law is the first condition for the populations of Host Countries to receive more willingly the aid intended to give.

Mr. Vice-President,

For our country, the tendencies observed as to the evolution of natural disasters along the latest years, constitute a serious reason of concern due to their serious consequences for nations’ sustainable development, especially that of developing countries.

Only in 2002, natural disasters produced 608 million victims, a figure which is equivalent to three times the annual average of the 1992-2001 decade, according to data from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. It is not pointless to remember that disasters continue to affect mainly Third World nations, particularly the poorest and less advanced.

According to the same source, disasters related to climate changes continue to increase: the annual average rose from 200, in the five-year period of 1993-1997, to 331, during the five-year period of 1998-2003. Only some weeks ago, great rains and floods affected Haitian and Dominican populations, whereas barely around 50 kilometers west, a strong drought has been affecting the daily life of thousands of Cubans.

Within this scenario, poverty and underdevelopment only aggravate nations’ vulnerability before natural hazards. Reinforcing prevention, mitigation and preparation activities, as well as, a prompt international response to the request of the affected countries, results indispensable to save precious human lives under these circumstances.

Hence, we expect that the Second World Conference on Disaster Reduction to be held on January, 2005, in Japan, contributes to strengthen international cooperation mechanisms as regards this matter.

Mr. Vice-President,

In view of the strong impact on Third World nations of the different emergencies paid attention to under the framework of humanitarian assistance, for Cuba the issue of the
continuum from relief to development takes on especial importance.

Nevertheless, our delegation is seriously concerned about the approach chosen for this issue in some instances of the agencies and funds, which, pursuant to their mandates, shall support national development priorities.

Several of the proposals, informally known, totally obviate the development agenda, an outcome of large UN conferences and other international events of greatest importance. These proposals are of a biased nature for they attempt to make generalizations as to some cases in which nations emerge from conflicts, while omitting completely the necessary support to countries affected by natural disasters.

Similarly happens in reference to the methodological instruments to be implemented for the eradication of poverty, which are far from achieving consensus and acceptance among developing countries, as they constitute a remedy to structural adjustment policies imposed by the international financing institutions and some donor countries, generating more exclusion and backwardness.

Even as to the analysis of the circumstances of armed conflicts, what is most alarming of the initiatives some funds and programmes have chosen for themselves, without any legislative mandate, is that the structural causes of conflicts are not addressed, which go from extreme poverty and underdevelopment to great geopolitical interests in the effort to control natural resources considered strategic.

Taking into account the importance of this issue, we consider a broader consultation to all UN States Members for the elaboration and implementation in the field of this kind of proposal, is advisable and appropriate.

Mr. Vice-President,

The Organization all the countries present belong to, will only be in conditions to offer the highly needed humanitarian assistance in a more effective and efficient way through the support of us all, the commitment to humanitarian principles and respect for the UN Charter and that of International Law, particularly International Humanitarian Law.

Thank you very much.