President Hage Geingob has called for an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo by the United States of America against Cuba.
Geingob made the call on Thursday during the ongoing 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, which is convened under the theme ‘Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainability, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations’.
He said the people of Cuba deserve to pursue developmental aspirations and attain economic freedom, while in the same vein calling on US President Joe Biden, who was an invaluable member of former President Barack Obama’s administration which sought rapprochement between Washington and Havana, to rekindle the spirit of respect and peace between the US and Cuba that Obama pursued.
Geingob covered an array of international issues ranging from a food systems approach and leveraging the interconnectedness of food systems to global challenges such as hunger, climate change, poverty and inequality. He said Namibia is committed to the reform of the UN Security Council, as a member of the African Union Committee of Ten.
“We therefore call on all countries to support the reform of the UN Security Council in line with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration,” he said, adding that all members have a collective responsibility to ensure the participation of women at all levels of governance and economic activity as a symbol of freedom and equality in society.
“Namibia believes that women’s participation and representation is central to equitable and sustainable development, thus Namibia continues to advocate for increased gender equality around the world, and we set ourselves the challenge of leading by example in our policies, programmes and actions. Similarly, we take cognisance of the fact that our youth are the backbones of the global village and the custodians of the keys to humanity’s future. Namibia remains committed to supporting the development of our young people and promoting greater youth participation in all areas of society, since they have a critical role to play in promoting global peace and development,” he added.
Geingob further stated that the world is faced with the most critical period in human history, noting that global peace, human dignity, the future of the global village is at stake, calling on citizens of the world to craft a collective way forward that will ensure “we recover from the devastation of COVID-19 and chart a way forward towards a brighter future”.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
