Cuba’s ambassador at UN headquarters in Geneva, Pedro Luis Pedroso, demanded in this Swiss city the cessation of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States, diplomatic sources informed.
During the 37th regular session of the Human Rights Council, the diplomat also demanded the return of the territory illegally occupied by the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo province, according to a statement.
‘Cuba will continue its struggle because its society is as fair as possible. We will persist in defending the right of the Cuban people to give themselves the political system they consider, and follow self-determination without any interference,’ he said.
The ambassador reiterated the rejection to manipulation and double standards in the treatment of human rights, and called for abandoning politicization and selectivity.
‘We reject the use of the human rights issue to exert political pressure and seek to impose punitive actions, with the objective, sometimes, of promoting regime changes,’ he stated.
Pedroso questioned the accusations made against Cuba in the speech by the U.S. representative, which he described them as ‘illegitimate and a demonstration of an incongruous approach with the need to promote an objective, non-politicized and non-discriminatory debate on human rights’.
According to the ambassador, ‘after criticizing other countries, it seems they intend us to forget the human rights violations they commit in their territory and in other peoples of the world.’ (Taken from Prensa Latina)