CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Draft Statement by Cuba at the debate on agenda item 107: Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice; and agenda item 108: International Drug Control. 65 UNGA. Third Committee.

New York, 6 October 2010.

Mr. Chairman,

Crime prevention remains a priority task in the current international situation.
To fight that scourge, we must first fight underdevelopment and establish a more just and equitable new international economic order.
Countries with limited resources, as a result of the unjust international economic order, have more difficulties to face the challenge posed by the fight against crime. No country is in a position to combat by itself terrorism, drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, money laundering operations or arms trade. 
International cooperation based on the full respect for sovereignty, in accordance with national legislations and territorial integrity of States, as well as the respect for the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities are essential to prevent and effectively fight crime. 

Mr. Chairman,
Undoubtedly, of all forms of transnational organized crime faced by the international community nowadays, none has the magnitude and extension, amount of resources, and social and human costs of drug trafficking. To face it constitutes a challenge for the international community.
Our country reiterates its full willingness to collaborate in every serious and coherent effort in the fight against drug trafficking, at the regional and international levels. The problem cannot be solved solely, or even primarily, through measures applied in the production centers, or the intermediaries, but that the fundamental responsibility rests on the great centers of drug consumption.

Mr. Chairman,
Cuba rejects the drawing up of spurious lists of countries that supposedly make violations related to the transnational organized crime, like those lists drawn up for political purposes or manipulation by the US Department of State on issues such as terrorism, trafficking in persons, and drug trafficking.
Those mechanisms work on the margin of the United Nations system, and are nothing but tools for political pressure and for justifying unilateral sanctions that, as the blockade against Cuba, are legally and ethically unsustainable in the face of the international law. Only in this way can the inclusion of Cuba on those lists by the US Government be understood.

Mr. Chairman,
The Cuban Government works systematically on crime prevention through comprehensive programs of economic, social and cultural development, and the systematic improvement of our legislation.  
The Cuban legislation prevents and severely punishes money laundering, arms trade, drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime. However, the cornerstone in the work to prevent crime is the improvement and deepening of the comprehensive education of our children, youths, and people in general.  
Also, our country attaches great importance to the holding of Congresses on Crime Prevention, where exchange of information and practices among States and professionals is promoted. 
Cuba has largely proved its commitment to international cooperation in the fight against transnational organized crime, by actively engaging in bilateral and multilateral fora and mechanisms on this field. It has likewise arranged cooperation agreements with dozens of States.
Our country reiterates its unswerving commitment to continuing to fight for crime prevention, as well as to strengthen its solid bonds of cooperation with the international community, especially with the efforts of the United Nations in preventing and eradicating this scourge.
Thank you

8 de octubre de 2010
(Cubaminrex-Misión ONU)