In his address to the United Nations General Assembly’s 77th Session, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves argued in favour of Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Taiwan.
As part of his remarks, Prime Minister Gonsalves spoke about the intervention against Cuba, the attempts to undermine the duly elected governments of Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as Taiwan’s exclusion from the United Nations system.
“Why are the illegal, unjust economic embargo, undeclared war, and criminal interventions against Cuba permitted to continue without let up, despite overwhelming, near-unanimous denunciation by this General Assembly? Why do we not resist unequivocally the sordid attempts by imperialism to subvert the duly-elected governments of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Republic of Nicaragua? How can we stand askance, in relative silence, and contented inaction, in disregard of Taiwan’s legitimate right to exist in accord with the wishes, and will of the Taiwanese people? Why do we not encourage peace and security across the Taiwan Straits by, among other things, permitting Taiwan’s participation in the specialised agencies of relevance in the United Nations system such as the World Health Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation”?
Gonsalves said all these, and other, twentieth-century quarrels and contentions have potentially viable solutions, or at the very least, mutually acceptable levels of dissatisfaction, lodged within a framework of peace and security.
Quality global leadership, in communion with the world’s peoples, credible ideas for resolution, and a coherent multilateralism grounded in international law, constitute the only viable way forward for humanity, Gonsalves said.