Declaration of the 19th Political Council of ALBA in the framework of the 74th session of the UN


The member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA-TCP) rejected on Monday the new attacks launched from the United States (USA) against Venezuela, through the – illegal – activation of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR).
Similarly, they reiterated their condemnation of the sanctions imposed against Cuba, in order to generate a new diplomatic escalation between the two nations, “which leads to the closure of the Embassies in both countries”, as well as to encrude the economic and financial blockade that governs on the island for over 50 years.
Following, the full declaration:
“The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Alliance for the peoples of Our Americas – Treaty of Commerce of the Peoples (ALBA-TCP), meeting at its 19th Political Council, within the framework of the 74th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) expresses the following agreements:
They deplored the expulsion of two diplomats from Sister Republic of Cuba to the UN by the authorities of the State Department of the United States of America (USA) on September 19, 2019.
They denounced the imposition of new unilateral coercive measures by the US. against the people of Cuba. Recently, the US they have limited the sending of remittances; restricted banking transactions, banned educational group trips to Cuba and unconventional blocking actions against the supply of fuel to Cuba.
This supremacist aggression policy has the sole objective of generating a diplomatic escalation that leads to the closure of Embassies in both countries, as well as continuing to tighten the economic, financial and commercial blockade against Cuba.
They stressed that Resolution CP / RES. 1137 (2245/19) of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved on September 11, 2019, is absolutely illegal and in violation of International Law of form and substance because the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is not part of the OAS since April 2019, and neither of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance since it denounced said Agreement in May 2013.
They stressed that Article 08 of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance is in line with the policy of harassment and economic suffocation that the US Government has been applying against the people of Venezuela in recent years especially in the economic area.
They categorically rejected the threats that Venezuela’s peace and territorial integrity entails the convening of the Organ of Consultations of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, as well as the most recent actions that have been promoted by this small group of countries in different multilateral spaces.
They expressed that the only international body with authority and capacity to declare a situation as a threat to international peace and security and to take action through the use of force is the Security Council of the United Nations Organization (UN).
They reiterated the pacifist vocation of ALBA-TCP, promoting the culture of peace and the right to peace and rejected any initiative that goes against these principles and puts peace in the region at risk.
They stressed that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (ECLAC) declared Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace “in which differences between nations are resolved through dialogue and negotiation or other forms of peaceful settlement established in international law”.
They expressed their concern regarding Climate Change and the historic commitment assumed by the International Community through the Paris Agreement, consequently rejecting that the US has withdrawn from this agreement leaving in evidence the lack of responsibility with the Planet and the future generations of the government of the United States.
They stressed the need for aid and cooperation in cases of natural disasters associated with the planet’s climate crisis to be treated ethically. For Alliance countries, the exclusion of countries for political or ideological issues is unacceptable. They reiterated that the principle of equality of the states of the UN Charter should be respected for the convening of meetings on environmental issues that represent a global concern.”
New York, September 23, 2019