<nettime> Fidel at the UN

[DeeDee Halleck <dhalleck@ucsd.edu>]

 REPUBLICA DE CUBA

MISION PERMANENTE ANTE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS

ADDRESS BY DR. FIDEL CASTRO RUZ,
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CUBA
MILLENNIUM SUMMIT
New York, September 6, 2000

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Excellencies:

There is chaos in our world, both within the countries' borders
and beyond. Blind laws are offered like divine norms that would
bring peace, order, well being and the security our planet so
badly needs. That is what they would have us believe.

Three dozen developed and wealthy nations that monopolize
the economic, political and technological power have joined us
in this gathering to offer more of the same recipes that have
only served to make us poorer, more exploited and more dependent.

There is not even discussion about a radical reform of this old
institution over a half century ago when there were few independent
nations-- to turn it into a true representative body of the interests
of all the peoples on Earth-, an institution where no one would have the
irritating and anti-democratic right of veto and where a transparent
process could be undertaken to expand membership and
representation in the Security Council, an executive body
subordinated to the General Assembly, which should be the
one making the decisions on such crucial issues as intervention
and the use of force.

It should be clearly stated that the principle of sovereignty cannot
be sacrificed to an abusive and unfair order that a hegemonic
superpower uses, together with its own might and strength,
to try to decide everything by itself. That, Cuba will never accept.

The poverty and underdevelopment prevailing in most nations
as well as the inequality in the distribution of wealth and knowledge
in the world are basically at the source of the present conflicts.
It cannot be overlooked that current underdevelopment and
poverty have resulted from conquest, colonization, slavery and
plundering in most countries of the planet by the colonial powers
and from the emergence of imperialism and the bloody wars
motivated by new distributions of the world. Today, it is their
moral obligation to compensate our nations for the damages
caused throughout centuries.

Humanity should be aware of what we have been so far and
what we cannot continue to be. Presently, our species has
enough accumulated knowledge, ethical values and scientific
resources to move towards a new historical era of true justice
and humanism.

There is nothing in the existing economic and political order
that can serve the interests of Humankind. Thus, it is
unsustainable and it must be changed. Suffice it to say that
the world population is already 6 billion, 80% of which live in
poverty. Ages-old diseases from Third World nations such
as malaria, tuberculosis and others equally lethal have not
been eradicated while new epidemics like AIDS threaten to
exterminate the population of entire nations. On the other
hand, wealthy countries keep investing enormous amounts
of money in the military and in luxurious items and a voracious
plague of speculators exchange currencies, stocks and other
real or fictitious values for trillions of dollars every day.

Nature is being devastated. The climate is changing under
our own eyes and drinking water is increasingly contaminated
or scarce. The sources of man's seafood are being depleted
and crucial non-renewable resources are wasted in luxury and
triviality.

Anyone understands that the United Nations basic role in the
pressing new century is to save the world not only from war
but also from underdevelopment, hunger, diseases, poverty
and the destruction of the natural resources indispensable to
human life. And it should do so promptly before it is too late!

The dream of having truly fair and sensible rules to guide
human destiny seems impossible to many. However, we are
convinced that the struggle for the impossible should be the
motto of this institution that brings us together today!

Thank you.

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