Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke this Monday at the High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action is an action plan adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2001 during the World Conference against Racism in South Africa; it establishes concrete measures to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related forms of intolerance.
Given its importance, Radio Havana Cuba presents the full text of his address, taken from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website, Cubaminrex.
Address by H.E. Mr. Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, at the High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to Commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
Mr. President:
At the historic Durban Conference, the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, stated—and I quote:
“Racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia constitute a social, cultural, and political phenomenon, not a natural instinct of human beings; they are the direct offspring of wars, military conquests, enslavement, and the individual or collective exploitation of the weak by the powerful throughout the history of human societies.” End quote. Xenophobia, discrimination, police brutality, racial profiling, intolerance, and supremacist ideologies are currently on the rise—particularly in highly developed countries—targeting people of African descent, religious minorities, migrants and indigenous peoples.
The promise of societies free from discrimination remains on the horizon, as does the need for reparations for the horrors of slavery.
The wealthiest nations, which benefited from centuries of conquest, colonization, and the transatlantic slave trade, refuse to acknowledge their historical responsibilities. Some even opposed this Assembly’s recognition of the slave trade as a crime against humanity—the gravest in history.
At the same time, the international economic order perpetuates the exclusion of the vast majority of people and the Global South.
Cuba is a proudly *mestizo* nation; our African heritage and roots are an essential part of our identity. From this stem our determination to be truly free, our creativity, and our unshakeable capacity for resistance.
Our people have demonstrated this in the face of the intensified blockade, the energy siege, the policy of maximum pressure, and the constant threat of military aggression by the United States.
Thank you very much.
IMAGE CREDIT: ACN | Photo courtesy of Cubaminrex
[ SOURCE: AGENCIA CUBANA DE NOTICIAS ]
