July 13, 2016
On July 12, Cuba denounced the UN Security Council’s failure to act in response to Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people, despite global support for the for the cause of the Palestinian nation.
In an open debate on the situation in the Middle East, the island’s permanent representative Ana Silvia Rodríguez denounced the Security Council’s failure to adopt a single resolution demanding Israel end its aggressive policies and colonial practices against the Palestinian people.
“The Council’s failure to take action in the face of such acts is alarming. It is unacceptable that the Security Council should continue be held hostage by the veto, or the threat of veto, by the United States, preventing the organization from fulfilling its responsibility and protecting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people,” she stated.
The ambassador reiterated Cuba’s call for the organization to fulfill the responsibility afforded it by the UN Charter to maintain peace and international security, highlighting that it must adopt decisions demanding that Israel immediately cease its occupation of the West Bank, including West Jerusalem and the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
During her speech, the representative praised regional and international efforts underway to resume peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, such as France’s initiative to hold a multi-lateral conference, along with other similar actions proposed by Arab nations.
The 15 member body, headed by Japan in July, focused its open debate on the recent report from the Middle East Quartet a group composed of the United States, Russia, the European Union and United Nations.
In its July 1 report, the Security Council, created in 2002, outlines what it believes to be the principle obstacles to peace and makes recommendations toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
Rodríguez recognized the report but expressed concern over “attempts to equate the responsibilities of a people subjected to occupation with those of the occupying power.” According to PL during the meeting Cuba also warned that peace in Syria can only be achieved if the people’s right for self-determination is respected.
Rodríguez went on to address the Cuba’s support for the Syrian people’s desire for peace, and the right to choose their own destiny without foreign intervention.
An armed conflict has been underway in Syria since 2011, when the West and its regional allies attempted to impose a regime change in Damascus, a crisis which, according to the UN, has left 250,000 dead and 11 million internally displaced and refugees.
Cuba’s representative elaborated further by denouncing the Security Council’s failure to adopt a single resolution demanding Israel end its aggressive policies and colonial practices against the Palestinian people when she said, “The Council’s failure to take action in the face of such acts is alarming. It is unacceptable that the Security Council should continue be held hostage by the veto, or the threat of veto, by the United States, preventing the organization from fulfilling its responsibility and protecting the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.”
The ambassador reiterated Cuba’s call for the organization to fulfill the responsibility afforded it by the UN Charter to maintain peace and international security, highlighting that it must adopt decisions demanding that Israel immediately cease its occupation of the West Bank, including West Jerusalem and the blockade of the Gaza Strip.
During her speech, the representative praised regional and international efforts underway to resume peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians, such as France’s initiative to hold a multi-lateral conference, along with other similar actions proposed by Arab nations.
The 15 member body, headed by Japan in July, focused its open debate on the recent report from the Middle East Quartet a group composed of the United States, Russia, the European Union and United Nations.
In its July 1 report, the Security Council, created in 2002, outlines what it believes to be the principle obstacles to peace and makes recommendations toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
Rodríguez recognized the report but expressed concern over “attempts to equate the responsibilities of a people subjected to occupation with those of the occupying power.”
According to Prensa Latina during the meeting Cuba also warned that peace in Syria can only be achieved if the people’s right to self-determination is respected. Rodríguez also expressed the country’s support of the Syrian people’s desire for peace, and the right to choose their own destiny without foreign intervention. An armed conflict has been underway in Syria since 2011, when the West and its regional allies attempted to impose a regime change in Damascus, a crisis which according to the UN, has left 250,000 dead and 11 million internally displaced and refugees.
http://en.granma.cu/mundo/2016-07-13/cuba-criticizes-inaction-by-security-council-over-palestine
Source: Granma