YouSaid · the spoken record

Rodriguez-Parrilla

lines on the record: 318
first: 1994-07-31
most recent: 2013-08-06
sittings or episodes: 37
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

“As for Cuba, which continues its struggle, I shall say nothing on this occasion on which I am speaking on behalf of CELAC. We must now continue to go forward. Let no difference hold us back. Let us remain united. Let nothing prevent us from honouring the legacy of the liberators of our America.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“Our common positions on numerous topics of interest for the international community portend our possibilities. At the First CELAC Summit, we renewed our countries' commitment to multilateralism and to a comprehensive reform of the United Nations system, as well as to the democratization of international decision-making forums, in particular the security Council. Latin America and the Caribbean is a zone of peace free from nuclear weapons. CELAC has adopted a unanimous position with regard to some far-reaching topics on the international agenda, such as, for example, Argentina's legitimate claim in the dispute concerning the sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and - today, on the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima - on so-called nuclear disarmament.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“It is high time for our region to contribute to the equilibrium of the world with all the might of its almost 600 million inhabitants, who are seeking equal opportunities; its abundant natural resources, over which we shall permanently exercise our sovereignty; its economic capabilities, even in circumstances of global economic crisis; and its extraordinary ancestral culture and the unyielding determination of our peoples to achieve peace, development, justice and progress. The fact that numerous countries and organizations have found in CELAC a valid interlocutor with Latin America and the Caribbean is a source of satisfaction. We are pleased that the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States is able to participate in this Security Council debate. CELAC has already started to appear before the United Nations as a united force.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“While recognizing the fundamental role of the presence of the Organization in Haiti through the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) and the efforts of the international community to support Haiti, CELAC reaffirms that those efforts will be effective as long as they are part of a long-term sustainable project under the leadership and guidance of the Haitian Government, with full respect for its sovereignty.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“In that regard, CELAC recognizes in particular the contribution made by the African Union, which has proved to be most useful in some peacekeeping operations, where its cooperation has complemented the efforts of the United Nations. CELAC reiterates that there can be no lasting peace without development and the eradication of poverty, hunger and inequality. That principle is the essence of the solidarity and cooperation of CELAC members countries towards the sister nation of Haiti - a country whose heroic role in the independence of the countries of the region continues to inspire our current integration efforts.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“In relation to current United Nations peacekeeping efforts, CELAC believes that, with the purpose of achieving stability in the long term, as well as to prevent the recurrence of conflicts, it is necessary to strengthen the strategic, comprehensive and coordinated presence of the United Nations in the field, not only in the area of peacekeeping, which is essential, but also by strengthening national institutions and promoting reconstruction and economic and social development in areas of conflict. In that regard, CELAC urges greater interaction and coordination among Member States and all the relevant organs of the United Nations. Regional and subregional organizations have an essential role to play in conformity with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“In that regard, we highlight the work done by the Permanent Representatives of CELAC member States to the United Nations, who have agreed on an internal mechanism for concerted participation in the discussions at the various committees to which the consensual position of CELAC has been put forward. As a result, we commit to strengthen coordination efforts at the Headquarters, including promoting joint initiatives on issues of interest to the region. On several occasions, CELAC has put forward before the United Nations its common vision about some of the main challenges faced by the maintenance of international peace and security and the prevention of conflicts.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“Likewise, they reiterated that CELAC was an important mechanism to promote the interests of developing countries in multilateral organizations in order to reinforce our capacity to react in a coordinated manner to the challenges of a world in the process of a profound economic and political change, as well as our commitment to strengthen CELAC to promote and project the interests and concerns of Latin America and the Caribbean on the main issues of the international agenda and to bring together positions and coordinate ourselves, when possible, at international meetings and conferences of global reach.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“They expressed their conviction that the unity and political, economic, social and cultural integration of Latin America and the Caribbean constituted a requirement for the region to successfully confront the challenges before us. And they decided to promote and project a unified voice for Latin America and the Caribbean in the discussion of the principal issues and in the positions of the region on the relevant global events at international meetings and conferences, as well as in the dialogue with other regions and countries.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“I can feel his presence among us. Upon founding CELAC, our Heads of State and Government reiterated "our commitment to the building of a more just, equitable and harmonious international order based on respect for international law and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including the sovereign equality of States, the peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for territorial integrity and non-intervention in the internal affairs of States". They reaffirmed our commitment to the defence of sovereignty and the right of any State to establish its own political system, free from threats, aggression and unilateral coercive measures and in an environment of peace, stability, justice, democracy and respect for human rights.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“We have provided ourselves with institutions that allow us to promote unity within our diversity, integrate ourselves and cooperate, discuss among ourselves the issues that are germane to us, and be in solidarity to one another to solve the pressing problems that still encumber Latin America and the Caribbean. We intend to develop ourselves, live in peace, protect human dignity and preserve and enrich our culture. We congratulate ourselves on the fact that CELAC is reaching common views in areas such as social development, education, health, the environment, energy and financing, among others, and now is preparing to work together in the areas of cooperation, nuclear disarmament, fighting corruption, agriculture, science and technology. I pay tribute to President Hugo Chavez Frias, one of the founders and principal architects of CELAC.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“They also agreed that, "recognizing the right of each nation to build freely and peacefully its own political and economic system, in the framework of the corresponding institutions according with the sovereign mandate of its people, the processes of dialogue, exchange and political negotiation carried out by CELAC must be pursued taking into account the following common values and principles: respect for international law, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the prohibition of the use and the threat of use of force, respect for self-determination, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of each country, and the protection and promotion of human rights and democracy". Latin America and the Caribbean have resolved to walk in closed ranks, like the silver in the roots of the Andes.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“Thus, our Heads of State and Government decided in the Caracas Declaration that, "in accordance with the original mandate of our liberators, CELAC must move forward in the process of political, economic, social and cultural integration, based on a wise equilibrium between the unity and diversity of our peoples, so that the regional integration mechanism can become the ideal space to express our rich cultural diversity and also the forum to reaffirm the Latin American and the Caribbean identity, our common history and our ongoing struggles for justice and liberty".”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla (Cuba) (spoke in Spanish): Allow me first to thank you, Madam, and the Government of the Argentine Republic for the invitation conveyed to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which Cuba is honoured to preside, to participate for the first time in a debate of the Security Council. The history of Latin America and the Caribbean has changed. Two hundred years after our independence, the ideas of "a Nation of Republics" and of "Our America" envisaged by Bolivar and Marti, respectively, are taking shape.”
2013-08-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.7015 (2013) · source
“This is not an issue that threatens international peace and security, and it cannot be resolved by a military presence conceived for peacekeeping operations. The serious consequences of the omissions, excesses, double standards and anti- democratic procedures of the Council are also well known. The problems of this sister nation are essentially the result of centuries of colonial and neocolonial pillage, underdevelopment, the imposition of one of the longest and bloodiest dictatorships ever seen in our region, and foreign intervention. The inalienable rights of the Haitian people to independence and self- determination should finally be respected. Haiti needs resources for reconstruction and development. It needs humanitarian commitment, and not interference or political manipulation.”
2011-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6510 (2011) · source
“The role of the United Nations is to support the Government and people of Haiti in strengthening their sovereignty and self-determination. The forces of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) have a very specific mandate to promote stability in that country, and that should have been and should still be rigorously respected. MINUSTAH does not have the political prerogative to involve itself in strictly internal Haitian affairs, nor should it do so. It is not acceptable for it to participate in electoral choices or to pressure sovereign authorities in any way. It also has no right to speak on behalf of Haiti. Cuba is firmly convinced that the humanitarian situation in Haiti is a matter not for the Security Council but for the General Assembly, whose authority the Council frequently usurps.”
2011-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6510 (2011) · source
“The creation of active survey groups, known as Subcomuna Adentro, was a new experiment that permitted the examination of almost 1.7 million people living in communities without access to health care services, and the diagnosis of more than 5,300 cholera cases in their own homes. I mention these results in all the modesty of our people merely to cite practical examples in support of our conviction that what Haiti needs is substantial and impartial aid, closely coordinated with the Government, that contributes to its development and helps overcome the immense socio-economic difficulties and disparities affecting Haiti and hindering its people's stability and progress. Haiti does not need an army of occupation; it is not and cannot become a United Nations protectorate.”
2011-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6510 (2011) · source
“We are ready to work, in a strictly humanitarian fashion and in respect for and in full coordination with the Haitian Government, with any and all countries and organizations willing to take part in rebuilding and developing Haiti's health system. At the same time, Cuban doctors have confronted a serious cholera epidemic. Sixty-seven units have been set up to care for more than 73,000 patients, a third of all the cases in the country. Of these, only 272 have died, for a death rate of 0.37 per cent, five times lower than that of other institutions in Haiti. Caring for these patients has required selflessness and a spirit of sacrifice, especially at night. In the past 77 consecutive days, our medical and nursing personnel have seen no deaths from cholera.”
2011-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6510 (2011) · source
“A comprehensive programme for hygiene and epidemiology is being developed in all 10 of the country's departments. This Cuban cooperative programme has 1,117 health workers, of whom 923 are Cuban and 201 come from the various countries educating and graduating students in Cuba, including young Haitians. The resources generously provided in solidarity by President Hugo Chavez Frias of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have been essential, and we have worked closely with Brazil through a tripartite agreement with Haiti. Cuba has also received the backing of several countries in carrying out this health programme. Namibia, Norway, South Africa, Australia and Spain, along with groups of individual donors, have contributed just over $3.5 million.”
2011-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6510 (2011) · source
“In full coordination with the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, and following the directions and priorities of the Haitian Government, we have worked tirelessly to implement a programme to rebuild the national health system, aimed essentially at meeting the health needs of 75 per cent of the neediest part of the population at minimum cost. Since 12 January 2010, almost 2 million patients have been treated, more than 36,000 surgeries have been performed and almost 8,500 babies have been delivered. More than 465,000 patients have received rehabilitation treatment. Services are being provided at 23 community referral hospitals, 30 rehabilitation wards, 13 health centres, two eye surgery clinics and the Public Health Laboratory.”
2011-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6510 (2011) · source
“Cuba shares the concerns expressed by the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in the communique issued at their intersessional meeting on 26 February, in which they made critical references to the working methods of the Haiti Reconstruction Fund and the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, to the need to respect the Haitian Government's priorities, and to the insufficient flow of pledged resources. Cuba has concentrated its efforts in the area where it can have the greatest impact - public health, a key element in Haiti's social sustainability and stability.”
2011-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6510 (2011) · source
“The will of the Haitian Government has not been respected, and its priorities have not been attended to. The reconstruction of Haiti, to which we all committed, is a task that is still pending. In the months following the terrible earthquake, Haiti seemed to be being torn apart by the Governments of the most powerful and industrialized countries, which distributed their aid in an arbitrary and arrogant fashion through their voracious companies and some of their wealthiest non- governmental organizations. Even today, funds and resources continue to be directed outside the programmes and control of the Haitian Government, leading to waste, corruption and the satisfaction of very marginal or selective interests.”
2011-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6510 (2011) · source
“The declared principle of directing this aid with full adherence to the Haitian Government's priorities, so as to strengthen the authority of the State, showed universal respect for the sovereignty of that beleaguered nation and its governing authorities' prerogatives. There appeared to be a universal desire to aid that heroic nation, the first to break free of the colonial yoke and to abolish slavery in the hemisphere of the Americas. Unfortunately, what has happened since has not been consistent with the spirit that ruled the conference of 31 March 2010. Nevertheless, many of the self- proclaimed principal donors have continued to dedicate exorbitant resources to war and military intervention. The sums pledged for financial and material aid, however insufficient to the magnitude of the problem, have not been disbursed.”
2011-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6510 (2011) · source
“Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla (Cuba) (spoke in Spanish): Barely one year ago at United Nations Headquarters, more than 150 Governments and other international actors committed to cooperating to provide substantial aid for the recovery and reconstruction of Haiti after the disaster caused by the earthquake of 12 January of that year. As a statement, it was a commendable show of solidarity. Though insufficient, the total pledged for reconstruction - $9 billion, of which $5 billion was to be disbursed in the first two years, in addition to valuable offers in kind - reflected an undeniable willingness to help.”
2011-04-06 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6510 (2011) · source
“Cuba hopes that the Security Council will take the necessary steps to immediately halt the construction of the separation wall; to restore all the occupied Arab territories, including the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Syrian Golan Heights; to stop Israeli provocations and attacks against Lebanon and Syria; to guarantee the return of all Palestinian refugees; to eliminate the illegal Israeli settlements; and to ensure that the Palestinian people can exercise their legitimate right to establish an independent State, with its capital in East Jerusalem.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“Violence and the use of force cannot lead to a solution to the conflict, a solution that the world seeks and that would have come about many years ago had the Security Council acted decisively, if double standards had not held sway and if the paralysing vetoes of the United States had not impeded the adoption of appropriate measures to ensure the withdrawal of Israel from all the occupied territories and to achieve the much desired peace in the Middle East region. Cuba reiterates its unflagging support for the cause of the Arab peoples, and expresses its deep solidarity with their struggle and resistance against foreign occupation.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“The construction of the wall also reveals Israel's true position, which runs counter to a genuine peace process. Building new physical divisions in the occupied Palestinian territory makes the opportunities for a lasting and just settlement to the conflict become even more distant. "Bantustanization" of the occupied Palestinian territories creates new changes in the field, which further complicate any future negotiations on permanent status and make it impossible to establish a Palestinian State in which all its territory is contiguous.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“Israel presents the construction of the separation wall between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory as a security measure. If the wall were built on the so-called Green Line, which delineates the border established in 1967 between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, that would also be unacceptable. But the wall is being built on Palestinian lands, covering almost 7 per cent of its territory, including farmland, water resources and villages. The building of the separation wall, the expansion of settlements and the construction of security routes between the settlements and Israel constitute a clear territorial expansion, to the detriment of the Palestinian people and its alienable right to enjoy self- determination and to establish its own independent and sovereign State.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“The Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, annexed to General Assembly resolution 2625 (XXV), sets forth the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force, which is a principle of international law. This is why the international community has always refused to recognize illegal Israeli settlements and Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, as has been recognized in Security Council resolutions 465 (1980), 478 (1980) and 497 (1981). In those cases, the reaction of the international community, expressed through the United Nations, was clear and firm. However, the underhanded annexation that Israel is carrying out before our eyes has not been as roundly condemned.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla (Cuba) (spoke in Spanish): In recent months, another very dangerous and unacceptable act - the construction of a wall of separation on Palestinian land - has been added to a long history of occupation, aggression, illegal settlements, massive flagrant and systematic violations of human rights, State terrorism and extrajudicial killings, economic strangulation and physical and moral harm caused by Israel's continuous refusal to comply, for more than five decades, with the provisions of numerous resolutions of this organ and the General Assembly.”
2003-10-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4841 (2003) · source
“A just and lasting peace cannot be achieved in the Middle East unless there is an end to Israeli occupation, unless the Palestinian people can exercise their legitimate right to establish an independent State with its capital in East Jerusalem, until there is a return of all the occupied territories, until Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Syrian Golan back to the line held on 4 June 1967. There will not be peace until the Israeli provocations in southern Lebanon cease, until the rights of the Palestinian refugees are guaranteed and until the illegal Israeli settlements are eliminated, in conformity with Security Council resolutions.”
2003-10-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4836 (2003) · source
“The veto of the United States - repeated 37 times - has thus far prevented Security Council resolutions from being implemented, has prevented Chapter VI of the Charter from being invoked, has prevented appropriate actions from being taken to ensure Israel's withdrawal from all the occupied territories, and has prevented peace from being restored in the Middle East. Cuba confirms its full support for the cause of the Arab peoples against Israeli occupation and aggression, and we express our deeply felt solidarity with their resistance.”
2003-10-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4836 (2003) · source
“A wall is being built to segregate the Palestinian people. There are repeated violations of airspace and attacks against southern Lebanon. The provocations and slanderous statements against Syria are increasing. While we reiterate our condemnation of suicide bombings against Israeli civilians - who continue to be innocent victims of the spiral of violence caused by their Government's policy - Cuba rejects the use of such individual actions to attempt to justify State terrorism against Syria and Lebanon and atrocities perpetrated by an army that possesses the most modern and lethal means for indiscriminately killing targeted persons as well as numerous other victims.”
2003-10-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4836 (2003) · source
“Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla (Cuba) (spoke in Spanish): I wish to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency and to express my gratitude for the presidency of Ambassador Jones Parry. The delegation of Cuba strongly condemns the military attack launched by Israel on 5 October against the Syrian Arab Republic in flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and the very resolutions of the Security Council. An act of aggression has been committed, in the light of which the Council must exercise its functions under the mandate of the Charter. The Security Council has the duty to prevent a dangerous escalation in the Middle East conflict. Approximately 3,600 people - nearly 2,800 of them innocent Palestinian civilians - have died since September 2000.”
2003-10-05 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4836 (2003) · source
“The aim of the United Nations is now to achieve a ceasefire and to stop the aggression, not to speculate or to do anything under the pretext of being anticipators able to validate an eventual Anglo- American occupation Government in Iraq, or whatever it may be called; nor to invent in advance United Nations mechanisms on the ground or procedures to commit those who opposed war to undertake the costs of a distant and unpredictable reconstruction. The main thing is to do the impossible to stop the death and destruction and to achieve the end of the war and the withdrawal of the invading forces from the occupied territories. Public opinion, that extraordinary and booming force, shall be severe in the judgement of our conduct.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“Nevertheless, we cannot accept that the aggression and the occupation of territories should be legalized or endorsed under humanitarian pretexts, which would serve only to encourage war and would essentially distance us from the ceasefire and from those very humanitarian principles and objectives that have been declared. The Security Council and the Secretary-General must be extremely careful in their mandates and responsibilities. Nothing should be done against the political independence and sovereignty of Iraq or its territorial integrity.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“Cities are not "secured" but destroyed by bombs; precision-guided ammunitions do kill and mutilate civilians and traumatize millions of people terribly. All prisoners deserve humane and honourable treatment and are protected by the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocol I. International humanitarian law should be totally and universally implemented and respected. The priority now is to stop the bombing of and aggression against Iraq. It is also a priority to protect and provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the civilian population, for which the United Nations and its Secretary-General have all the necessary powers.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“"After the last world carnage in the 1940s, we were promised a world of peace, the reduction of the gap between the rich and the poor and the assistance of the highly developed to the less developed countries. It was all a huge lie. An unsustainable and unbearable world order was imposed on us. The world is being driven down a dead end." It is necessary to halt this course of events if we want to survive - Europe and the developed and developing countries, without exception - as sovereign and independent States; if we want to preserve peace and the collective security system that cost humankind 50 million deaths and hundreds of thousands of lives to the United States people; and if we want to defend the already precarious existence of the United Nations as a main element and symbol of multilateralism.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“"The former colonies of Powers that divided the world among them and plundered it for centuries constitute today the group of underdeveloped countries. There is nothing like full independence, fair treatment on an equal footing or national security for any of us; none is a permanent member of the Security Council with a right of veto; none has any opportunity to be involved in the decisions of the international financial institutions; none can keep its best talents; none can protect itself from the flight of capital or the destruction of nature and the environment caused by the squandering, selfish and insatiable consumerism of the economically developed countries.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“In Kuala Lumpur, our President stated: "In his speech to the graduating cadets of West Point on 1 June 2002, the United States President stated: 'Our security will require transforming the military you will lead - a military that must be ready to strike at a moment's notice in any dark corner of the world.' "That statement was not made by the Government of a small and weak nation, but by the leader of the richest and mightiest military Power that has ever existed, the same that possesses thousands of nuclear weapons - enough to obliterate the world population several times over - and other fearful conventional military systems and weapons of mass destruction. "That is what we are: 'Dark corners of the world'. That is the perception some have of the third world nations. Never before had anyone offered a better definition.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“We know that Iraq neither offers nor is able to offer the slightest threat to the national security of the United States or its allies. Rigorous analysts have submitted evidence that the attack against Iraq had been planned even before the criminal terrorist act of 11 September against the twin towers. President Fidel Castro has addressed the causes, pretexts and factors of the crisis and offered solutions, particularly in his speeches of 28 January; 14 and 25 February; 6 and 22 March.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“More than two thirds of the members of the Security Council and three of its permanent members tried for weeks to avert war, noted its potential consequences and offered diverse solutions inspired by two premises: that any unilateral attack would be a violation of the Charter and international law; and the necessity of the complete implementation by peaceful means of the relevant resolutions of the Council itself. Nevertheless, the inspections were suspended when tangible progress was being achieved. We duly noted the risk that the scope of resolution 1441 (2002) would be manipulated or distorted and we were sceptical about the public assurances given then by those who later started the war. In reality, Iraq had been sentenced long before.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“The United Nations, including the General Assembly, must exercise all the powers and functions entrusted by the Charter to guarantee peace, security and the political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq, Kuwait and all the States of the region; to protect the Iraqi people and re-establish the implementation of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly that of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I; and to ensure respect for the human rights of the Iraqis, especially their right to life. We all had hopes, but we all knew this would be the outcome.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“Mr. Rodriguez Parrilla (Cuba) (spoke in Spanish): The aggression of the United States and the United Kingdom against Iraq deserves strong condemnation and should be stopped immediately. The Security Council should fulfil its primary responsibility in the restoration of the international peace and security that have been shattered by this act of aggression.”
2003-03-26 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4726 (2003) · source
“Whatever happens, if the Security Council fails to truly and legitimately fulfil its mandate, the General Assembly should exercise, in this emergency, all the authority and power granted by the Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.”
2003-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4717 (2003) · source
“The veto, so often used in an indiscriminate and illegitimate way, despite its obsolete and anti-democratic nature, would be, in this case, justified by the exceptional circumstances in which we are living. It would take limitless cynicism to criticize it. The non-permanent members now have a special opportunity to make their own voices heard, as sovereign and equal nations that can rely on the enormous legitimacy of our votes. We have elected them precisely for moments like these. They know they are acting on our behalf and that we know the risks and challenges they face; they have our full support. The Non-Aligned caucus also counts on the solidarity of the whole Movement.”
2003-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4717 (2003) · source
“The draft resolution being discussed is a declaration of war. Its objective is to deceive public opinion. Its contents and deadlines are impossible to implement. Even if it is dressed up with new benchmarks, or if the ultimatum is postponed for a few days, it remains essentially the same. The opposition to war and the defence of the United Nations and the Charter by the majority of the members of the Security Council, including three of the permanent members, is commendable. Pressured by the empire, they enjoy the almost unanimous support of Member States, of international public opinion and of their own peoples. Nothing could be more serious or have worse consequences than to surrender, and nothing could make the Security Council more irrelevant.”
2003-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4717 (2003) · source
“The path to the full implementation of the relevant resolutions of the Security Council is based on the preservation of peace, cooperation and the good faith of all parties to dispel any doubts about the possession of weapons of mass destruction, the continuing work of UNMOVIC and IAEA and a comprehensive settlement on the question of Iraq, including the lifting of sanctions, to guarantee regional stability and full respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and the political independence of Iraq, Kuwait and all the countries in the region. The Non-Aligned Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur, loyal to its founding principles, has crafted a broad- ranging and relevant statement. A unilateral attack against Iraq, as the Secretary- General has warned, would constitute a violation of the Charter. It would be an act of aggression.”
2003-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4717 (2003) · source
“Instead it is an act of predatory war. It has now been announced, with astounding cruelty, that new weapons are to be used and that there will be an unprecedented intensity of bombing. It is declared that the magnitude of civilian losses is incalculable and the terrible humanitarian consequences are being disguised.”
2003-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4717 (2003) · source
“It would put their existence in jeopardy and place all States, with no exception, at risk, facing the unpredictable vagaries of a universal tyranny and putting them at the mercy of new pre- emptive wars. A war against Iraq would be unjust and totally unnecessary. These months of debate, meticulous inspections by the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which have been discrediting evidence and refuting accusations, the unquestionable cooperation of Iraq and the disarmament activities it has been carrying out in compliance with Security Council resolutions have proved that there is no credible threat or risk to the national security of the United States. We know this is not, from any point of view, an act of self-defence.”
2003-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.4717 (2003) · source