In the meeting held at United Nations headquarters on July 28-30, Cuba reiterated its firm commitment to the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. It denounced the systematic violations and atrocities committed by Israel as the occupying power.
Ambassador Yuri Gala, Charge d’Affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations, affirmed in his speech at the forum that his country “has joined the call of the most international community for decisive action to end one of the longest-standing injustices of our time.”
He said injustice has worsened in these last two years, during which “Israel has perpetrated crimes against humanity, collective punishment, Apartheid, and genocide against the Palestinian people with impunity.”
Ambassador Gala recalled on Wednesday the high number of dead, injured, and displaced persons, as well as the destruction of hospitals, schools, mosques, and other civilian infrastructure, in clear violation of International Humanitarian Law, which “places us before a painful reality that lacerates the conscience of humanity.”
Gala emphasized that concrete actions are urgently needed in the UN Security Council to stop the ongoing genocide, allow for the delivery of sufficient and unrestricted humanitarian aid, and guarantee the vital work of UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East).
The Cuban representative also recalled that more than 145 countries already recognize the State of Palestine and emphasized that its admission as a full member of the UN cannot be delayed further.
Justice for Palestine cannot wait any longer. “Let us act with the urgency that humanity demands, that the Palestinian people need, as an unavoidable condition for achieving a just, lasting, and permanent peace in the Middle East,” he concluded.