The permanent representative of Cuba to the United Nations, Ernesto Soberón, was elected on Wednesday as vice president of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, an organization dedicated to the defense of the self-determination of those territories.
Following the news, Cuba’s alternate permanent ambassador to the UN, Yuri Gala, insisted on his country’s willingness to support a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the establishment of two states.
“We receive this responsibility as a commitment to continue fighting through our work in the Committee and in the United Nations in favor of a genuine peace process in that region of the world,” he said, representing Ernesto Soberón. Yuri Gala recalled that his country will support the procedure initiated by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice and will present, as a Third State, “its interpretation of the norms of the Convention that Israel has flagrantly violated with its actions in the illegally occupied Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip,” he explained.
The diplomat called for an end to the impunity with which the Tel Aviv government acts, which can only be explained by Israel’s confidence that the regime will not be held accountable for its genocidal actions.
Furthermore, the Cuban diplomat demanded an end to the indiscriminate bombings against the population in Gaza and the forced displacement of Palestinians from the land that rightfully belongs to them.
Cuba’s alternate ambassador to the UN described the Security Council’s lack of action to enforce its own resolutions for a ceasefire as “unacceptable.”
In that sense, he rejected the support of Israel by the United States, which he considered complicit in obstructing and repeatedly using the veto to prevent Council action, undermining regional peace, security and stability.
“Genocide, apartheid, forced displacement and collective punishments cannot have a place in today’s world, nor can they be tolerated by the international community,” he emphasized.
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People was established in 1975 by the General Assembly to promote the ability of Palestinian refugees to exercise their right to self-determination and sovereignty, as well as the right of return.
Composed of 26 members and 24 observer states, the body organizes international meetings and conferences while liaising with civil society organizations around the world with a program of information and publications.
