Statement by Ambassador Zhang Jun at the 75th session of the General Assembly on the Issue of Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial and Financial Embargo Imposed by the United States of America Against Cuba

常驻联合国代表张军大使在第75届联大全会审议“必须终止美国对古巴的经济、商业和金融封锁”的发言

23 June 2021

2021年6月23日

China welcomes the presence of Foreign Minister of Cuba, His Excellency Mr. Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla at today’s meeting. China associates itself with the statement made by the representative of Guinea on behalf of G77 and China.

中方欢迎古巴外长罗德里格斯先生出席今天的会议，支持几内亚代表“77国集团和中国”所作发言。

At present, the continued ravage of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world is bringing serious shocks to the socio-economic development of all countries and in particular the developing countries, making it all the more difficult to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. All countries should keep in mind a community with a shared future for mankind and join hands in fighting against the pandemic, so as to promote a better recovery for common development. However, some Western powers resorted to abusive unilateral sanctions in violation of international rules and order, thus toxicating international relations. Countries of the world have all the right to adopt countermeasures to resolutely resist and counterattack the unilateral sanctions, so as to effectively safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests.

当前新冠肺炎疫情仍在全球肆虐，给各国特别是发展中国家的经济社会发展造成严重冲击，落实2030年可持续发展议程更为艰难。各国应本着人类命运共同体意识，携手抗击疫情，促进更好复苏，谋求共同发展。然而，个别西方国家大肆滥用“单边制裁”，践踏国际规则，破坏国际秩序，毒化国际关系。各国完全有权采取反制措施，对“单边制裁”予以坚决抵制和反击，有力捍卫自身合法权益。

For 28 consecutive years since 1992, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted the resolution with an overwhelming majority on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba, urging all countries to abide by the UN Charter and the norms governing international law, revoke or repeal any form of laws and measures, the extraterritorial effect of which affect the sovereignty of other countries, the legitimate interests of the entities and persons under their jurisdiction, and the freedom of trade and navigation. This represents the just call of the international community, and must be effectively implemented.

自1992年起，联合国大会连续28年以压倒性多数通过“终止美国对古巴的经济、商业和金融封锁”决议，敦促所有国家遵守《联合国宪章》和国际法准则，撤销或废除任何形式具有“治外法权”效力、影响他国主权及其管辖范围内实体和个人的合法权益、影响贸易和航运自由的法律和措施。这代表了国际社会的正义呼声，必须得到切实执行。

I need to emphasize that the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the US against Cuba do not go well with the international trend of peace, development and win-win cooperation. These measures violate the international consensus on the 2030 agenda and harm the rights to survival and development and basic human rights of the peoples of all countries. These measures must be stopped immediately. It is regrettable that the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the US against Cuba, instead of being stalled, has on the contrary, recently been intensified. This has seriously violated the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and relevant GA resolutions, severely restricted the access of the Cuban people to medicine, vaccines and supplies needed for fighting the pandemic. It has also severely hindered the efforts of the Cuban people in achieving sustainable development goals such as poverty eradication, and seriously affected Cuba’s normal economic, financial and development cooperation with other Member States.

我要强调指出，美国对古巴等国的单边强制措施与和平发展、合作共赢的国际潮流格格不入，违背2030年议程国际共识，伤害各国人民的生存权、发展权和各项基本人权，必须立即终止。令人遗憾的是，美国对古巴的经济、商业和金融封锁非但没有取消，近期还出现加剧之势。这严重违背《联合国宪章》宗旨和原则及联大有关决议，严重限制古巴人民获取抗击疫情所需药物、疫苗和物资，严重阻碍古巴人民实现消除贫困等可持续发展目标的努力，也严重影响了其他会员国与古巴的正常经济、金融和发展合作。

China has always advocated for respecting the independent choice of all countries in their social systems and development paths, safeguarding the international order underpinned by international law, defending international fairness and justice, and opposing the use of unilateral coercive measures against other countries by military, political, economic or other means. China and Cuba have always maintained frequent economic, trade and personnel exchanges. Friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields has been continuously developed. After the outbreak of the pandemic, the Chinese government and relevant businesses and community organizations donated many times anti-epidemic supplies to Cuba to help the Cuban people fight the pandemic.

中方一贯主张尊重各国自主选择社会制度和发展道路的权利，维护以国际法为基础的国际秩序，捍卫国际公平正义，反对以军事、政治、经济或其他手段对他国实施单边强制措施。中古两国一直保持频繁经贸和人员往来，各领域友好互利合作不断发展。新冠肺炎疫情发生后，中国政府及有关企业、社会团体等多次向古方捐赠抗疫物资，帮助古巴人民抗击疫情。

All the countries in the world are a community with a shared future. Dialogue on an equal footing and friendly consultation is the best way of addressing differences. Unilateralism, protectionism and bullying will ultimately backfire. China urges the United States to immediately and completely lift the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba and develop normal state-to-state relationships with other Member States in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and basic norms governing international relations. This is in line with the common interests of the people of the United States and Cuba, and is also conducive to regional peace and stability. China will again vote in favor of the draft resolution submitted by Cuba under this agenda item. We fully believe that this draft resolution will again be adopted with an overwhelming majority, with a strong appeal for opposing unilateral sanctions and upholding fairness and justice.

世界各国是休戚与共的命运共同体，平等对话、友好协商是解决分歧的最佳途径。单边主义、保护主义、霸凌行径终将害人害己。中方敦促美方立即全面取消对古巴的经济、商业和金融封锁，按照《联合国宪章》的宗旨和原则及国际关系基本准则同其他会员国发展正常的国家间关系。这符合美古两国人民共同利益，也有利于整个地区的和平稳定。中方将再次投票支持古巴在本议题下提交的决议草案。我相信，该决议草案也将再次以压倒性优势获得通过，发出反对单边制裁、维护公平正义的强烈呼声。