Author: Evelina Hassanova
The picture is illustrative
The representative of Cuba gave an interview to Al Jazeera on their current progress within the committee. He shared with us the topics they are working on and explained why Cuba decided not to focus on their domestic problems, and instead succumbed to the influence of a country block to write the resolution on a different topic.
I heard that your committee is divided and your country has already chosen a side, is that true? What countries did you ally with and on what topic are you writing the resolution on?
It is less of a division and more of a separate teamwork. All the work is between different groups of delegates, but our delegations have agreed on most things. There haven’t been many clashes within our group, but it seems like we have different priorities.
The delegation of Cuba along with the delegation of Kuwait and Switzerland are currently working on the issues of marine life extinction, overnutrition in more developed countries, and we are also discussing whether we should use GMOs.
Can we already call you a coalition of three countries?
No, I would say that this statement would have some negative side effects. It would imply that the committee has split to separate coalitions, but it is more like we are dividing the work between ourselves. At the end of our work as a team we are planning to discuss it all together.
Another group is writing about investing in GMOs. Why didn’t you unite your themes and choose one topic to write the resolution about?
We think it is because we have a higher priority in marine life issues.
Yesterday during your opening speech you highlighted the problem that Cuba heavily relies on more developed countries, and is dependent on exports. Why did you backtrack on your problem and chose to start writing a resolution about marine life extinction and overnutrition?
Good question. It seems that the delegations we are working with, the delegation of Yemen in particular, seem to have problems that are more of a priority than a lack of micronutrients in the world. We think that it is best that we take care of the conflict we see in Yemen right now before moving on to less immediate problems.
You think that the problems within your own country are less important than the conflict in Yemen?
We do not, however the government of Cuba has been trying to take care of the problem and has done so successfully without the UN participating in it that much recently. We think that at this moment in time we do not require the UN to solve the problem that Cuba heavily relies on more developed countries.
You claimed that throughout six decades Cuba was slowly improving food security. Can you specify how the process took place and what actions were taken?
One very permanent action that was taken in Cuba was the change in the constitution that happened in 2019 regarding a lot of quality-of-life changes. The permanent change was the right for food for people. Since the constitution changed there have been several funds founded both by the government of Cuba and the UN to help households solve their food issues. According to recent research it has helped around 24.5 thousand households in Cuba.
Do you think you will be able to agree today on which topic your committee resolution will eventually be?
We hope so! We are planning to finish preparing the resolutions by this afternoon but there might be some unprecedented issues that we might run into.