The Cuban ambassador to the United Nations Organization (UN), Pedro Nuñez Mosquera, called for respect of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries affected by disasters, after expressing his solidarity with Pakistan.

Cuba rejects the imposition of ambiguous concepts that can be easily manipulated to threaten the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and nonintervention in the internal affairs of states, said Nuñez Mosquera.

While speaking on item 70 a) of the agenda on the strengthening of coordination for the emergency humanitarian assistance provided by the UN, the diplomat pointed out that it is for to the stricken nation to lead the aid and request international support.

Likewise, he also expressed his condolences for the over 1,600 deaths caused by heavy rains, the worst that have occurred in 80 years and that have affected 20 million people, including 3.5 million children at risk of contracting serious diseases.

This death toll could rise significantly if “the international community does not immediately offer the help they need," he said in his speech at the plenary of the General Assembly.

After recalling that a few years ago Cuba helped Pakistan after the earthquake that devastated that nation, he asserted that the Caribbean island will continue sharing its best experiences and contributing with professionals trained by the Revolution.

For our country, he added, the only way of dealing with the devastating fury of nature is by putting the planet’s available resources to the service of the most affected, without mean commercial interests or national selfishness.

Solidarity and international cooperation are imperative, he underlined, while urging to work rapidly to achieve a more ambitious agreement on climate change that can safeguard the Outline Agreement on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol.

Translated by Daysi Olano

!joomlacomment 4.0 Copyright (C) 2009 Compojoom.com . All rights reserved."