CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Statement by Ambassador Rodolfo Benítez Verson, Deputy Permanent Representative of Cuba, at the UN General Assembly Debate on Human Security. New York, 20 May 2010.

Mr. President,
Almost exactly two years ago, the General Assembly held its first thematic discussion on the question of Human Security.
That exchange made something quite clear. Member States have many and very diverse opinions on how to define Human Security. This is a complex and sensitive question, on which we are still far from reaching a consensus. 
It is therefore noted with concern that the Secretariat adopts policies and takes actions to implement a concept that has not been defined by the Member States, like that of Human Security. Although there is no definition agreed on by consensus, the Report of the Secretary-General (A/64/701) mentions no less than 20 structures of the United Nations system which, since 1999, have carried out projects on Human Security.
We do not question the noble reasons that motivate many of those projects, but the implementation of ambiguous concepts not clearly defined creates the conditions for its manipulation by certain States, in favor of their narrow political interests.  
Mr. President,
To Cuba, there is no higher priority but to guarantee the equality of opportunities, so that each and every individual of the society can enjoy its rights and fully develop its human potential. We likewise try to contribute, in every possible way, to the achievement of such goal by other peoples of the world, through international cooperation. 
We by no means call upon the international community or the United Nations to remain impassive at the sight of numerous problems affecting human security and development. On the contrary, Cuba has always demanded, and will continue to demand, a decisive and urgent action to address the root causes of such problems and find a just and lasting solution to them.
Today, we face a huge challenge posed by the current unjust, unequal, and unsustainable international order. We live in a world favoring a minority not higher than 20% of the population of the planet, and preventing the development and well-being of the remaining 80%. 
How can the security of all human beings be guaranteed in the face of obstacles like the unequal exchange, the hermetic closure of industrialized countries’ markets to our products, instability and the increasing speculation of financial markets, restrictions on technology transfer, and the outrageous brain drain?
If the underdevelopment and poverty conditions, where four fifths of the humankind lives, are not eradicated; if 1.4 billion people are not released from extreme poverty; if nearly 800 million adults who cannot even read are not taught to read and write, then human security will be just an empty rhetoric. 
What Human Security can we refer to when, as indicated in  the Report of the Secretary-General, 17,000 children die of hunger every day, one every five seconds; when FAO reports that the number of hungry people in the World reached the historic figure of 1,020 million, meaning that one every six people suffers from hunger?
If the United Nations and its infrastructure for development are not preserved; if a new financial architecture with a social approach is not created; if the modest commitment to allocate 0.7% of the First World’s GDP to the Official Development Assistance is not fulfilled, and the few it provides is not ceased to be made ever more conditional; if the foreign debt our countries have paid several times and, yet, it continues to grow, is not cancelled, then human insecurity will go on.  
Not only there will be no human security, but the survival of humankind will be impossible, if the unsustainable pattern of production and consumption of industrialized countries, which pollutes and destroys the ecosystems of the planet, depletes natural resources, and is responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions, is maintained.
Global warming, the danger of the rise in the sea level, the depletion of fossil fuels, and the irrational use of sources of freshwater, among others, pose very serious threats to the security of human beings.
There can be no human security without sustainable development. As long as there is food insecurity and energy insecurity, there will be no human security either.
Human security is incompatible with the existing 22,000 nuclear weapons, over 12,000 of which are ready for immediate use. There will be no human security as long as nuclear disarmament is not achieved and the world continues to considerably spend on producing weapons rather than on saving lives.
There will be no human security if selectivity, partiality, and double standards concerning human rights do not cease; if economic, social, and cultural rights are disregarded; if the right to development as a priority is not promoted.

In the case of Cuba, we cannot forget to mention that the brutal economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed on our country for over 50 years, apart from flagrantly violating the International Law, has caused the Cuban people to lose lives, and contradicts any paradigm of Human Security.
This is the reality of the world today, and it cannot be ignored in our discussions.
Mr. President,
Cuba considers a definition of Human Security acceptable to all States, will necessarily has to meet, at least, the following basic premises:
•           To ensure the full respect for the International Law and the Charter of the United Nations, including the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs. The purposes and principles of the Charter cannot be rewritten, distorted, or conditioned. The Charter constitutes the basis of the collective security system and, hence, of human security.
•           To totally rule out, in an explicit manner and in any scenario, the possibility of using or threatening to use force against the States.
•           To guarantee that the Government of each State be the only one with the right to determine the threats to human security that may exist in such State, and to decide the most convenient way to address them.
•           Any foreign assistance or contribution to a State in relation to human security must be strictly conditional on the request and consent of the Government of the State in question.
Cuba will not accept a definition on human security that does not fully respect those premises. We will not support any concept that can be manipulated for political purposes and that blazes a trail for those who seek to legitimize interventionism and unilateral actions.
To conclude, Mr. President, I wish to stress that the review of this issue must continue to be done in the framework of the General Assembly, where all of us have the right to vote, are on an equal footing, and there is no room for hegemony.
Cuba considers essential that any decision on Human Security should be adopted by consensus. Otherwise, instead of bringing positions closer, we would be widening the divisions on a matter that has important implications to all. 
In this process, there can be no impositions or unnecessary haste. On the contrary, there must be a prevalence of a thorough and deep analysis duly taking into account the legitimate interests and concerns of all Member States.
Thank you

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