YouSaid · the spoken record

Nllfiez-Mosquera

lines on the record: 37
first: 1997-05-21
most recent: 2012-04-23
sittings or episodes: 4
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“An intervention by foreign forces in Syria would have serious consequences for international peace and security, in particular in the Middle East. Taking into account recent experiences and the precedents set as a result - in which we witnessed the manipulation of the Charter of the United Nations, the application of double standards and the flagrant violation of international law - we reiterate our rejection of any attempt to undermine the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. The responsibility of the international community towards a Member State in these difficult times is to provide aid in order to uphold peace and stability in that country. We reaffirm our confidence in the capacity of the Syrian people and Government to resolve their internal problems free from foreign interference.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757Resumption1 (2012) · source
“The Security Council was not designed to be - nor can it act as - an instrument to foment regime changes in any country. The mandate of the Security Council is to promote peace, not violence. It is to prevent destabilization and to protect the innocent, not to use or manipulate them for geopolitical purposes. These are also the responsibilities of the United Nations as a whole. We support the efforts being made to achieve a peaceful solution to the situation in that country, in full respect for its sovereign rights. Cuba shares the concerns regarding the loss of innocent lives in Syria, as anywhere in the world. At the same time, we reiterate our categorical rejection of any form of direct or indirect foreign intervention, including the provision of logistical support to irregular armed groups.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757Resumption1 (2012) · source
“The situation and humiliations of the more than 4,000 Palestinian political prisoners are unacceptable. What is the Security Council going to do about this situation? Why has this body not condemned the situation immediately and clearly? Cuba reiterates its rejection of the illegal building and expansion of Israeli settlements in the Syrian Golan since 1967, which are violations of international law, the Charter and United Nations resolutions. We reiterate our unconditional support for the just demands and the right of Syria to reinstate its full sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan. Cuba rejects the policies of interference and destabilization in the Syrian Arab Republic, which are aimed at imposing regime change.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757Resumption1 (2012) · source
“It must put an end to its attacks and the indiscriminate use of military force against the civilian Palestinian population, and unconditionally and fully lift the cruel and illegal blockade of Gaza. Cuba reiterates its support for Palestine's bid for full membership of the United Nations. The Security Council must pronounce itself without further delay in favour of this matter, as it is the clear desire of the overwhelming majority of the States Members of this Organization. If this bid has been unsuccessful to date, that is because of the threat of veto by one of the permanent members of the Security Council, despite the fact that the State of Palestine has already been formally recognized by over 130 countries from all the regions of the world.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Mr. Nl'lfiez Mosquera (Cuba) (spoke in Spanish): We consider this meeting to be very timely, given the deplorable situation that continues to prevail in the Middle East. The deterioration of the situation since the last time that the Security Council met to consider this topic (see S/PV.6706) is evident. The Middle East remains marked by instability and insecurity. Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territories remains the main obstacle to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting solution for the region. Israel must immediately end its illegal presence in the Palestinian territories that it occupies, ignoring l2-30747 the calls of the international community. It must cease building settlements in occupied Palestine.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Hence the importance of today's Security Council debate, which must contribute to creating awareness of that reality. Economic and social development must be at the centre of United Nations priorities and cannot continue to be neglected. This Organization must develop urgent measures that redress the inequalities that persist in international economic relations. To that end, there is a need for complete and structural reform of the global financial and economic architecture. Speeches and promises are not enough. Political will is needed.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“The only guarantee that nuclear weapons will not be used by States, or by anyone, would be their destruction, along with the generation of recently developed conventional arms that are almost as deadly. The Non-Aligned Movement proposed a plan to eliminate and ban nuclear weapons by no later than 2025. Cuba will redouble its efforts to achieve it. Barely five months ago, in the General Assembly, we analysed the state of implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. Regrettably, it had to be recognized that only one third of them had been achieved. With little more than half of what the major Powers currently allocate to military expenditures, the Millennium Development Goals could be met and international peace and security strengthened.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“As Fidel Castro pointed out in his message to the eleventh United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, held in the city of $510 Paulo in 2004 - in your friendly country, Madame President - for the first time in history, man has produced the technical capacity for his complete self-destruction but, on the other hand, has not been able to create minimum guarantees for the security and integrity of all countries equally. Nuclear weapons are a very serious unresolved issue. Their possible use would have unimaginable consequences. The experiences of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are today a minimum indication of what could happen, given the infinitely superior destructive potential of contemporary nuclear weapons.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“In that context, it is significant that currently, world military expenditures exceed the astronomical figure of $1.4 trillion, which is higher than what was spent during the so-called cold war era, except that in today's unipolar world, only one country is responsible for almost 50 per cent of the expenditure. That astronomical figure is precisely what should be the source of resources for development, because what is the point of us talking about peace and security for the hundreds of millions of hungry and sick people in the underdeveloped and marginalized countries of the South? What sense can that have for them when their lives are limited to the daily struggle for mere survival? There is a close link between disarmament and development, and peace cannot be achieved without resources for development.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“Nevertheless, if the commitment undertaken 40 years ago to allocate 0.7 per cent of the gross domestic product of developed countries to official development assistance were fulfilled, that assistance would increase to more than $160 billion - that is, more than twice its current amount. The United Nations has put particular emphasis on its efforts in pursuit of political stability, sometimes through questionable means that undermine the principles of the sovereign equality of States and non- interference in their internal affairs, which are crucial to the proper functioning of the Organization. However, it has overlooked the fact that to achieve political stability, economic and social development needs must be met.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“It is simply the consequence of the unjust international economic order that has been imposed on us and which must be urgently replaced by a more just and equitable new international economic order. For Third World countries, the neoliberal model imposed since the late 1980s and early 1990s only brought about apparent growth, reflected in macroeconomic figures on paper. However, the difference between the rich and the poor significantly grew, just as the vulnerability of States and the concentration of wealth and privileges increased. While four decades ago, the first list of least developed countries included 24 States, today it includes 50 States.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“It is enough to point out that the United Nations budget devotes only little more than $965 million to activities in the economic and social fields. That is so, even though more than 1 billion people worldwide are hungry. Nearly 900 million cannot read or write, 120 million live in extreme poverty, and 3 billion suffer water shortages. Among children, 150 million have a low birth weight, 325 million do not go to school, and every day in underdeveloped countries 33,000 die from curable diseases. Food prices significantly rise, and foreign debt continues to deepen the structural crisis of the economies of underdeveloped countries. It is an offence to human sensitivity to know that infant mortality in poor countries is 12 times higher than in rich countries.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“Nevertheless, that document was followed almost to the letter, and the total budget for peacekeeping operations now stands at nearly $7.82 billion - that is, 1.35 times the regular budget of the United Nations. However, "An Agenda for Development" (A/48/935), which the same Secretary-General submitted shortly afterwards at the request of the General Assembly, did not receive the same support, nor was it defended with the same enthusiasm. On the contrary, the document has been neglected. The word "underdevelopment" has virtually disappeared from the United Nations vocabulary, and other principal organs that have responsibility for economic and social development issues, such as the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly itself, have seen how the Security Council has usurped many of their functions, with disastrous results.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“That was the trend in the work of the Security Council as we left behind the bipolar world in order to enter a new period that we thought would be characterized by a multipolar approach to international relations in which all countries, large and small, would enjoy equal opportunity and have the same say in the decision-making process. The reality, however, proved to be otherwise. We all became involved in the current unipolar global order. In the 1990s, at the request of the Security Council, the then Secretary-General introduced his well-known report entitled "An Agenda for Peace" (S/24111), which was much discussed at the time, as it contained proposals and approaches considered by many to be harmful to the sovereignty of States.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“It is not the purpose of this debate - nor would Cuba support it - for the Security Council to deal with economic and social development issues, which are the remit of other principal organs of the United Nations. However, it is important to highlight the economic and social difficulties that are the root causes of many conflicts that, regrettably, seem to be either ignored or disregarded. In the last two years of the 1980s, when the bipolar world of international relations that had existed for many years was about to come to an end, the Security Council approved five new peacekeeping operations. However, it is important to recall that the Council had only established 13 such operations in all of the preceding 40 years.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“Mr. Nl'lfiez Mosquera (Cuba) (spoke in Spanish): It is a great pleasure to see you, Madame President, presiding over this meeting of the Security Council. I also congratulate you on the initiative of your Government to promote this open debate of the Council on such a relevant and topical issue. As expressly indicated in the note (S/2011/50) sent by Her Excellency Mrs. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Permanent Representative of Brazil, to all Member States on 2 February, the provisions of the Organization's Charter are clear and it is unquestionably a fact that the responsibilities of the Security Council lie in, and are limited to, the field of international peace and security.”
2011-02-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6479Resumption1 (2011) · source
“It is in its hands to stop using the topic of terrorism for political purposes and to put an end the unfair and groundless inclusion of Cuba on the list of countries that supposedly sponsor terrorism. Cuba reiterates its willingness to make a more detailed presentation on these questions before the Counter-Terrorism Committee or submit to it any additional information or clarification considered necessary. Double standards cannot prevail. It will be impossible to eliminate terrorism so long as some terrorist acts are condemned and others are covered up, tolerated or justified. As in the past, Cuba will continue to strictly abide by the provisions of Security Council resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001) and 1540 (2004) and to cooperate with the subsidiary bodies established pursuant to them.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“If the new United States Administration genuinely wishes to prove its commitment to the fight against terrorism, it now has the opportunity to take firm action, without double standards, against the various terrorist organizations that have attacked Cuba for so many years from within the territory of the United States. It has the opportunity to let justice be done by releasing, without further delay, the five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters that it has kept as political prisoners for over 10 years in high- security prisons. The President of the United States has the constitutional prerogative to set them free as an act of justice and to show the commitment of his Government to fighting terrorism. The United States Government has the floor.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“Cuba has worked tirelessly in the search for bilateral and multilateral forms of cooperation to fight international terrorism, based on mutual respect, non-interference in the internal affairs of States and the sovereign equality of States. In that context, on 29 November 2001, Cuba proposed signing a bilateral counter-terrorism programme with the United States Government, without any conditions and in accordance with Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). That proposal, subsequently reiterated on various occasions, was rejected by the Bush Administration on the basis of empty and irrational arguments.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“The impeccable policy of the Cuban revolution with regard to terrorism leaves no room for questions or doubts, least of all from Washington. Cuba condemns all acts, methods and practices of terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations, wherever, by whoever and against whomsoever committed, whatever their motivations. What is more, the Cuban territory has never been used nor will it be used to organize, finance or carry out terrorist acts against any country. The United States Government cannot say the same. Over the past 50 years, the United States Government has been involved in repeated terrorist acts which have resulted in 3,478 deaths among the Cuban people and the maiming of 2,099, as well as material losses amounting to trillions of dollars.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“Cuba vigorously rejects the inclusion of our country on this unilateral and spurious list, which is politically manipulated and motivated, of unsound origin and drawn up by the 09-606 12 United States Department of State. With the unjustifiable inclusion of Cuba on this list, the new United States Government is denying the political rationality it publicly proclaims and following the mistaken path of its predecessors as it resorts to political manipulations and flagrant lies against Cuba, with the aim of justifying at all costs its discredited, isolated and unsustainable policy against our country. Those who draw up such lists lack the even the slightest moral authority to set themselves up as international arbiters on terrorism or to certify the conduct of others as good or bad.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“In stark contrast to that case is that of the five Cuban heroes who, on 12 September 2008, marked 11 years of incarceration in United States prisons for the sole reason that they fought to against Miami-based terrorism against Cuba - to prevent terrorists like Posada Carriles and Santiago Alvarez from committing terrorist acts against our country. Cuba supports the position of the 118 States members of the Non-Aligned Movement against the unilateral preparation of lists accusing States of supposedly supporting terrorism, a practice that is not in accordance with international law or United Nations resolutions. On 30 April, for the twenty-eighth consecutive year, the United States Government included Cuba on a list of States that supposedly sponsor international terrorism.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“The Government of the Republic of Cuba insists once again the United States authorities fulfil their international obligation to prosecute Posada Carriles as a terrorist or to extradite him to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in response to the request made by that Government on 15 June 2005, some four years ago. This terrorist is responsible for the in-flight bombing of a Cubana de Aviacion airliner, claiming the lives of 73 innocent civilians. Precisely, last 6 October marked another anniversary of that abominable crime. Posada Carriles is also responsible for attacks on tourist facilities in Havana in 1997 and for dozens of plans financed by the United States Government to assassinate the Commander of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz. I should stress that these are only some of the acts confessed by their perpetrator.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“He tried to insert a terrorist cell into the area of Isabela de Sagua, in Villa Clara Province, Cuba, in April 2001, with the purpose of perpetrating acts of vandalism in the country. Among the missions Alvarez ordered for that terrorist cell was the bombing of the Tropicana cabaret in Havana. There is irrefutable documentary proof of his participation in this act. The international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, who has been rightly rated the most notorious terrorist of the western hemisphere, is still free in the United States without being prosecuted for his terrorist acts against Cuba, despite the fact that the United States Government has all the evidence necessary to do so, including what Cuba has provided it since 1998. The United States Government has limited its action to a single trial for petty immigration offenses.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“To cite only a few examples, he was a founding member of the south Florida-based paramilitary terrorist organization Alpha 66; he enlisted as a mercenary in Brigade 2506, which invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in 1961; and he was a key accomplice of Posada Carriles in planning the failed assassination attempt on the leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, in Panama, in 2000. Alvarez's participation in various pirate attacks against Cuba from United States territory is widely known. On 12 October 1971, he participated in a terrorist attack against the population of Boca de Sama, in the north of Holguin Province, during which the perpetrators murdered two people and seriously wounded a girl.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“That terrorist was found to be in possession of, among other weapons, an illegal cache of 30 automatic and semiautomatic machine guns, a rocket launcher, numerous grenades, over 200 pounds of dynamite, 14 pounds of C-4 plastic explosive and 4,000 feet of detonating cord - a quantity of illegal arms unprecedented in south Florida - all to perpetrate terrorist acts against Cuba. However, the United States District Attorney's Office decided not to press charges of terrorism against him and sentenced him to only four years of imprisonment, a sentence that was then reduced to just 11 months. Santiago Alvarez has a record of terrorist acts against the Cuban people.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“That terrorist had been sentenced for having an illegal cache of hundreds of arms and ammunition in south Florida, and for obstruction of justice, having refused to testify before a federal grand jury on the illegal entry into the United States of his accomplice, the well-known international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles. The truth is that Santiago Alvarez was himself responsible for smuggling Posada Carriles into the United States aboard his vessel Santrina, in early 2005, an act that the Cuban Government denounced at that time.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“Mr. Nl'lfiez Mosquera (Cuba) (spoke in Spanish): We thank the Chairmen of the Committees established pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1373 (2001) and 1540 (2004), for the information they provided. On numerous occasions, our country has submitted to the Security Council detailed information on terrorist acts against Cuba perpetrated by various individuals and organizations, as well as on the conspiratorial protection they are given by the United States Government. So far, our complaints remain unanswered. Last 21 October, the notorious terrorist Santiago Alvarez Fernandez-Magrifia was set free in the United States.”
2009-11-13 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6217 (2009) · source
“Cuba acknowledges the importance of the promotion of respect for internationally recognized humanitarian principles, and we reiterate once again our unswerving support and ongoing readiness to provide the necessary assistance to peoples in a state of crisis or emergency. As was stated in the Final Declaration of the Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement held recently in New Delhi, it is essential to draw a distinction between humanitarian action, United Nations peacekeeping operations and operational activities for development. For the sake of independence, neutrality and impartiality in humanitarian actions, such actions must be kept separate and independent from political or military action, in accordance with their respective mandates.”
1997-05-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3778Resumption1 (1997) · source
“To try to link these concepts in order to justify the Security Council's playing a role that it should not play in this field would lead to flagrant violations of the Charter of the United Nations and of the principles contained in General Assembly resolution 46/ 182. In addition, this would bring about a militarization of humanitarian assistance, with all the harmful effects that would entail. So-called complex emergencies must be the responsibility of the entire United Nations system, and in particular of the organs that deal with assistance in disaster situations or others of a similar nature. They are not the responsibility of the Security Council. Any exceptions that may arise must be considered on a case-by-case basis and cannot become rules for the establishment of principles.”
1997-05-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3778Resumption1 (1997) · source
“For this reason, there must be a clear conceptual and practical differentiation between peacekeeping operations and what are known as humanitarian assistance operations. It is the responsibility of the Security Council to take action in situations that endanger international peace and security and to take various measures provided for in the Charter, but it is not the Council's responsibility to devise or take part in a humanitarian assistance operation. I should like at this point to comment on the so-called complex emergencies and on what is known as the integrated approach.”
1997-05-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3778Resumption1 (1997) · source
“These principles include, notably, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and the national unity of States, as well as the consent that is required from affected countries. The manner in which humanitarian assistance is being handled, in disregard of established principles and of the Charter of the United Nations itself, gives rise to a great many questions, from the increasing politicization and militarization of humanitarian assistance to the frequent predominance of political objectives over humanitarian aspects. This shift in the meaning of humanitarian assistance is tending, gradually and increasingly, to undermine the sovereignty of States and to impose conditions on assistance for development.”
1997-05-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3778Resumption1 (1997) · source
“The fact that in recent times we have seen a tendency to confuse humanitarian assistance with humanitarian assistance operations has detracted from the value of the former. To put humanitarian assistance in the hands of the Security Council by definition gives that form of assistance a coercive and military character, which does nothing to contribute to the truly effective utilization of this assistance by the peoples affected. This could even give rise to conflict situations, which are counter-productive with regard to this type of activity. In its resolution 46/182, adopted by consensus on 19 December 1991, the General Assembly established the principles governing the coordination of emergency humanitarian assistance in the United Nations system. This task must be discharged by all the Members of the United Nations, not just a few.”
1997-05-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3778Resumption1 (1997) · source
“For this reason, the usual procedures governing United Nations actions in international conflicts cannot mechanically be applied to these cases. At the heart of many conflicts lies an appalling economic situation and many centuries of exploitation and pillaging of the natural resources of other countries. Such conflicts cannot be resolved without also resolving their root causes. Moreover, one cannot ignore the existence of other organs of the United Nations whose reason for being is to provide humanitarian assistance, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, various specialized agencies and the Economic and Social Council itself in its role as the coordinating body.”
1997-05-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3778Resumption1 (1997) · source
“With increasing frequency the Security Council issues pronouncements creating mandates that commingle peacekeeping activities with humanitarian actions, or even with activities that fall within the sphere of economic development. It is truly a matter of concern to witness, in the guise of humanitarian assistance, the use of military force and attempts to justify real armed interventions, which, understandably, are rejected by the peoples of the countries concerned. Hunger, poverty and disease cannot be eradicated by using soldiers and weapons. Humanitarian assistance, therefore, cannot be linked with the use of force. Internal conflicts are essentially different from those that the Security Council, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, is competent to act upon.”
1997-05-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3778Resumption1 (1997) · source
“The Security Council, as stipulated in the Charter of this Organization, is the organ entrusted with maintaining international peace and security. Its actions should be confined to international conflicts that may endanger peace and security between nations; it is not empowered to deal with questions related to humanitarian assistance. However, as it happens, the Security Council has taken it upon itself to make decisions on humanitarian assistance with unwonted vigour. The Security Council has granted itself the right to determine when, why and how humanitarian assistance should be offered, through decisions and actions designed and inspired by the interests of certain of its permanent members.”
1997-05-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3778Resumption1 (1997) · source
“Mr. Nl'lfiez-Mosquera (Cuba) (interpretation from Spanish): I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on presiding over the Security Council for the month of May. I would also like to congratulate your predecessor in this post, the Ambassador of Portugal, on the manner in which he led the work of the Council in the month of April. We would have preferred this debate to have taken place in the General Assembly, a democratic organ with transparent working methods where all Member States of the United Nations are represented on an equal footing. The kind of humanitarian assistance the United Nations can provide is much more closely related to the work of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council than to that of the Security Council.”
1997-05-21 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3778Resumption1 (1997) · source