Statement by Mrs. Claudia Pérez Alvarez, representative of the Cuban Delegation to the Third Committee. Agenda Items 65 A), B) and 66: Elimination of Racism and Racial Discrimination, Comprehensive Implementation and Follow-Up of the Durban Declaration and Its Action Plan; Right of Peoples to Self-Determination. New York, 3 November 2008 Mr. Chairman, My delegation associates itself with the statement of Antigua & Barbuda on behalf of the G-77 and China. Mr. Chairman, Democracy and the effective realization of human rights cannot coexist with racism and racial discrimination. In spite of the fact that science has proven that the human race is one and indivisible, nowadays races, ethnic groups, nations and entire minorities are still discriminated against, particularly after the tragic events of 11 September 2001. With the rise to power of right-wing parties in developed countries, based on xenophobic and anti-immigrant ideas and agendas, this trend has increased. In consequence, civilizations and religions such as the Islamic are being demonized by the main power hubs of the North and their great mass media, with a clear ideological basement and motivations of imperialist domination. Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance are seen in the attempts to intellectually legitimize them in the airports, in sports and even in the dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority and hatred justified under the freedom of speech. All that could be seen in the anti-terrorist and anti-immigrant laws adopted by industrialized countries favoring the arbitrary nature of public authority. In this regard, the EU so called directive on return is of great concern. The consequences of mentalities sustained by the supposed superiority of one race over another are clearly seen currently in the United States, where neo-fascist organizations thrive, where the vast majority of the criminal population, those who lack social security and those who are hurricane Katrina’s victims are afro-Americans. In this country, the native population and the immigrants who built this nation with their work and sweat are still being discriminated against, in spite of the fact that they are being hunted in the southern border. Not to mention all those detained in the illegal Guantanamo naval base, who only by their physical appearance or religion are arbitrarily detained in that concentration camp. In view of this cruel reality, it is imperative the full implementation of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action, as well as the adoption of new practical measures to eliminate contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination and related intolerance. In this regard, we hope the Durban Review Conference, to be held on April 2009, reflect the renewed political will of the Member States, particularly industrialized countries, in the fight against all these scourges. Mr. Chairman, The exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination is a precondition for the realization of all human rights; hence while foreign domination and occupation persist there are no reasons to talk about the respect for these rights. To this purpose, Cuba demands the immediate withdrawal of the Israeli forces from all occupied Arab territories, including Palestine and the Syrian Golan, as well as the full respect for the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to establish its own independent and sovereign State. Likewise, Cuba supports the right of the Puerto Rican people to self-determination and hopes that it can join the community of nations which free from the colonial scourge. The illegal US Naval Base in Guantánamo, now gloomy famous for the tortures committed there, is a deep wound to our homeland’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Therefore, the Cuban people will continue demanding the devolution of that part of our territory which was illegally usurped. Cuba also rejects the doctrine of the so-called “humanitarian intervention” which is nowadays disguised with new terms as condemnable as the violations of the exercise of the right to self-determination. Cuba, with the co-sponsorship of other countries, will submit again a draft resolution on the use of mercenaries who continue to carry out actions in the world, which includes the issue of the activities by certain private international security companies. Mr. Chairman, In the course of nearly five decades, successive US Governments have committed grave actions against the full enjoyment of the Cuban people’s right to self-determination, using to this purpose from a mercenary invasion, the threat of a nuclear aggression, the design of numerous plans to assassinate its main leaders, to the impunity granted to organizations such as the Cuban-American Foundation, which has implemented terrorist actions against my country. The downing of an airliner of Cubana de Aviación by the Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles on October 1976, which claimed 73 innocent civilian lives, is just an example of those actions. In the present time, Mr. Posada Carriles, trained by the CIA, walks with impunity by the streets of this country. However, the Cubans Gerardo Hernández, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, Antonio Guerrero and René González have been arbitrarily and unjustly in prison for 10 years now in this country, for fighting against terrorism and the actions organized by anti-Cuba mercenary groups based in Miami, Florida, against Cuba. The devious trial and the lack of impartiality in the court which judged them call for a new trial. Thousands of people in the world have declared their solidarity with the cause of these Five Cuban Heroes and demand their immediate release. We appeal to the honest people in and out of the United Nations to join the demand for the immediate release of these Cubans. Lastly, Cuba reaffirms the willingness of the Cuban people to defend until the last drop of its blood its right to self-determination, which was conquered after a hard-fought struggle for more than 100 years. Thank you.
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