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Cuba aspires to good sense and human
intelligence prevailing over irrationality and
barbarity
Speech given by Army General
Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State
and Ministers at the Rio-20 Summit in Rio de
Janeiro, June 21, 2012, Year 54 of the Revolution
MR.
President;
Your Excellencies:
 Twenty
years ago, on June 12, 1992, in this same conference
hall, the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel
Castro Ruz stated, and I quote, “An important
biological species is at risk of disappearing due to
the rapid and progressive liquidation of its natural
living conditions: humanity.” End of quote.
What could have been considered alarmist, today
constitutes an irrefutable reality. The inability to
transform unsustainable models of production and
consumption is threatening the balance and
regeneration of natural mechanisms which sustain
life forms on the planet.
The
effects cannot be hidden. Species are becoming
extinct at a speed one hundred times faster than
those indicated in fossil records; more than five
million hectares of forests are lost every year; and
close to 60% of ecosystems are degraded.
In
spite of the landmark signified by the United
Nations Convention on Climate Change, carbon dioxide
emissions increased by 38% from 1990 to 2009. We are
now moving toward a global increase in temperature
which will place at risk, in the first place, the
integrity and physical existence of numerous
developing island states and will produce serious
consequences in the countries of Africa, Asia and
Latin America.
A
profound and detailed study undertaken during the
last five years by our scientific institutions is in
basic agreement with reports from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and
confirms that, during this century, if current
trends are maintained, a gradual and considerable
rise in average sea levels will take place in the
Cuban archipelago. This forecast includes the
intensification of extreme meteorological events,
such as tropical hurricanes, and an increase in the
salinity of underground water sources. All of this
will have serious consequences, especially for our
coastal areas, so we have initiated the adoption of
appropriate measures.
Equally, this phenomenon will have serious
geographic, demographic and economic implications
for the Caribbean islands which, moreover, must
confront the inequalities of an international
economic system which excludes the smallest and most
vulnerable.
The
paralysis of negotiations and the lack of an
agreement which could make it possible to halt
global climate change are a clear reflection of a
lack of political will and the inability of
developed countries to act in accordance with
obligations concomitant with their historical
responsibility and current position. This has been
demonstrated in this meeting, despite the
extraordinary effort made by Brazil, for which we
are grateful.
Poverty is increasing, hunger and malnutrition are
growing and inequality is expanding, aggravated in
recent decades as a consequence of neoliberalism.
During these 20 years, wars of a new kind have been
launched, focused on the conquest of energy
resources, as was the case in 2003, on the pretext
of weapons of mass destruction which never existed,
and the recent war in North Africa. Acts of
aggression against Middle Eastern countries which
can now be discerned will be compounded by others,
with the objective of controlling access to water
and other resources in the process of being
exhausted. It must be made clear that attempting a
new division of the world will unleash a spiral of
conflicts of incalculable consequences for a planet
already seriously insecure, and moreover, sick.
In
the last two decades, military spending has grown to
the astronomical sum of $1.74 trillion, almost
double that of 1992, which is leading to an arms
race in other states which feel threatened. Two
decades after the end of the Cold War, against who
will these arms be used?
Let
us stop the justifications and egoisms and seek
solutions. This time, everyone, absolutely everyone,
will pay for the consequences of climate change.
Governments of industrialized countries which are
acting in this manner should not commit the serious
error of believing that they can survive a little
longer at our cost. The waves of millions of hungry
and desperate people from the South toward the North
will be uncontainable, as will the rebellion of the
peoples in the face of such indolence and injustice.
No hegemonism will be possible then. End the
plunder, end war, let us advance toward disarmament
and destroy the nuclear arsenals.
We
are required to make a transcendental change. The
only alternative is to build more just societies; to
establish a more equitable international order based
on respect for the rights of all; to ensure the
sustainable development of nations, especially those
of the South; and place advances in science and
technology at the service of the salvation of the
planet and human dignity.
Cuba
aspires to good sense and human intelligence
prevailing over irrationality and barbarity.
Thank you very much (Applause).
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