Cuba Calls for a Culture of Peace at UN

Cuba considers that in order to achieve a culture of peace, a political will and a greater commitment of all States is required

Cuba called for the Culture of Peace to be the essence of the United Nations, in order to save present and future generations from the scourge of war and strengthen respect by all for the dignity and worth of the human person.

At the High-Level Forum on a Culture of Peace that took place at the United Nations headquarters, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Cuba to the organization, Ambassador Ana Silvia Rodriguez Abascal, said that in order to achieve a culture of peace, a political will and a greater commitment of all States is required to promote respect for life, the end of violence and the practice of non-violence through education, dialogue and cooperation.

Statement by Ana Silvia Rodriguez Abascal, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, at the High-level Forum on the Culture of Peace, 5 September 2018.

Full respect for sovereignty, self-determination of peoples, territorial integrity and political independence of States are also required, as well as non-interference in their internal affairs, commitment to the peaceful settlement of conflicts, efforts to satisfy development needs, the observance of the right to development and the protection of the environment, she stated.

On the other hand, she stressed that despite the sustained international demand for a culture of peace to be achieved and strengthened, there are still issues that hinder and undermine the real possibilities of achieving such a noble goal. These issues include intolerance and discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin, religion or race, as well as the promotion of hate speech and supremacist ideas under the irresponsible use of freedom of expression; unilateral coercive measures; the threat and use of force contrary to the Charter of the United Nations; the promotion of covert agendas for regime change in developing countries; the development of new, more lethal and more sophisticated weapons; the persistence of large nuclear arsenals; or the violation of the principles of International Law by some States.

Ambassador Rodríguez Abascal concluded by reaffirming the full validity and enforceability of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, adopted in 2014 in Havana in the framework of the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which is an example of our region’s commitment to strengthening peace and negotiated solutions to conflicts and differences; as well as a contribution to the culture of peace at a global level.