Distinguished Delegates,

Madam Chairperson, my highly respected friend,

First of all, allow me to thank President Mbeki for his words, which will undoubtedly constitute a guide for our work.

It gives me great pleasure to see you chairing our Ministerial Meeting, the first one since our Movement's historic Summit Conference last year in Durban, South Africa where the Movement reaffirmed its principles, consolidated its desire for unity and solidarity and emerged with renewed strength.

Since then we have seen how the dangerous trends denounced in the Durban Declaration for the New Millennium have gathered force. The threats are growing to the sovereignty, independence and economic stability and development of the Non-Aligned Countries. The principles consecrated in the Charter of the United Nations, which have guided international relations for 50 years and are the only legal support in a world that does no favor to the poorest and neediest, are treated with increasing disregard, and there have even been attempts at their removal.

The international security policies currently promoted by the developed countries, particularly the United States of America and NATO, are a source of growing concern, as they may lead to an intensification of tension and conflicts, both on a regional and international level, and threaten the security of developing countries. Such policies are aimed at distorting and further disregarding the role of the United Nations as an instrument for peace reducing it to an international agency for authorization of interference and the use of force in the interest of hegemony.

Cuba reasserts the need to defend, with greater conviction than ever, the founding principles of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, especially, non-alignment, solidarity and the unity of the Movement, since these have constituted our raison d'être since the Bandung Conference 44 years ago.

As proclaimed and ratified by the Movement in Durban, we declare our adamant and unlimited respect for the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of International Law, particularly those related to sovereignty and the equality of all states, to territorial integrity and political independence, and to self-determination and a policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations, as well as the principles of International Humanitarian Law.

Cuba feels that one of the Movement's highest priorities should be to work in unity and solidarity for the defense of such sacred principles. In all the recent negotiations, at the most diverse forums, we have seen that it has become increasingly difficult for such concepts to be explicitly and clearly set forth in the documents.

Could it perhaps be that some wish to create a world order where submission, threats and the use of force prevail in the absence of any legal instruments to restrain them? Could it perhaps be that some consider it in their interest to continue denying us the possibility to exercise our rights to sovereignty and integrity while forcibly imposing theirs? Could it perhaps be that they want to shape a future where there are no longer any international institutions of universal scope with a collective security system that can be impartial and act on the basis of justice and equality?

Cuba asserts that this is not the international world order which the Non-Aligned Countries have always advocated as it reaffirms the need to immediately establish one based on peace, justice and equality among nations. We advocate a world order in which respect for International Law reigns, where the right to development can be a reality rather than a Utopia and the United Nations and its system of agencies can play a regulatory role in international relations to guarantee equality for all states, irrespective of their size or power. A world that does not accept the use of force, in which the peaceful resolution of disputes becomes the rule rather than the exception, where the genuine functions and authority of the General Assembly are respected and unilateral actions, coercion and the humiliating imposition of force are condemned.

That was the international order we advocated in Durban. An international order that also reasserts the commitment of all nations to general and complete disarmament, nuclear disarmament included, and in which the considerable funds currently dedicated to military spending are instead devoted to combating hunger and poverty in the world. An international order which not only condemns the existence and use of weapons of mass destruction, but also the increasing use of sophisticated conventional armament in aggressive actions against other states that almost without exception are part of the Third World.

The international world order we have always dreamed of is one capable of establishing a genuine and legitimate cooperation between the rich and developed countries and our own, one in which hunger, unhealthy conditions and poverty are eradicated. A world order that removes racial discrimination and xenophobia and that does not accept to just pay lip service to human rights, but genuinely respect them in every country.

Racism, anti-immigration policies, discrimination and the exploitation of women and children are expanding in a world that is daily becoming increasingly unfair. Presently, Third World countries are producing more but earning less as the prices of their export commodities are dropping while those of the goods they import keep climbing. One third of the population in underdeveloped countries continues to be ravaged by acute poverty. These countries, with 75% of the world's population, contributed only 17.7% to the total export of goods and services in 1998, while the industrial nations, with 15.6% of the world's population, exported 80%.

Our nations are powerless against the negative effects of financial speculation. We hardly survive appalled by the crushing weight of the foreign debt, while the OECD countries devote less resources than ever to the Official Development Aid. Attempts are made at imposing a Multilateral Agreement on Investments that would turn our countries into one huge "world free zone", thus submitting the governments to the will of the transnationals, which would do business without even paying taxes while rewarding our workers with miserably low salaries.

What advantages do the poor people of this world obtain from globalization and the expansion of international finance markets? According to the UNDP, the OECD countries with just 19% of the world's population account for 71% of the world trade in goods and services, 58% of direct foreign investment and 91% of Internet users.

Our Movement of Non-Aligned Countries has a duty to our peoples, that is, to fight for a world order in which the dignity of humankind, solidarity, justice, equality and development are the guiding principles. To achieve this, the first thing we need to do is unite and use our numbers and power to their full potential in international relations. There is an urgent need to revitalize the structures of the Non-Aligned Movement and use all the means of concerted action within our power.

Madam Chairperson,

Cuba welcomes the admission to the Non-Aligned of our sister nation the Dominican Republic. We are certain that it will greatly contribute to the unity and strengthening of our Movement.

We are of the view that the Non-Aligned Movement should pay special attention to the successful celebration of the South Summit which, as we all know, will be held in Havana from April 10 to 14 next year. We will do everything possible to ensure that this event provides a new and important impetus to the struggle for our just demands.

The South Summit in Havana will give us the opportunity to coordinate our positions in anticipation of the Millennium Summit convened by the United Nations for September of the year 2000.

Madam Chairperson,

Cuba, a country blockaded and under attack from the most powerful nation in history, stands proud and firm in the defense of our peoples’ rights. It also reiterates today to its brothers and sisters in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, its conviction that if we unite and fight for our common interests, no force in the world will prevent us from achieving a future of dignity and social justice.

Thank you very much.