"An Island on a Continent"

New York, June 2024

1. The Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations unequivocally rejects the political manipulation of the fight against terrorism, including through the issuance of these arbitrary, illegitimate and unilateral lists accusing States of alleged support for terrorism; a practice that is totally incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations and international law as a whole.

2. The Member States of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations refer, in this context, to the recent removal of the Republic of Cuba from the U.S. State Department’s unilateral list of countries that allegedly do not fully cooperate with U.S. counter-terrorism efforts.

3. The Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations note with deep concern that this action does not correct the unjust, unfounded and slanderous accusation against the Republic of Cuba, as that nation remains arbitrarily included on the U.S. State Department’s unilateral list of States that allegedly sponsor terrorism.

4. The Member States of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations further notes that the inclusion of the Republic of Cuba on that list has significantly reinforced the negative effects of the criminal and illegal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed against the Cuban people by the government of the United States of America, including enormous difficulties in carrying out financial and commercial operations and serious damages to the subsistence and integrity of the Cuban population.

5. The Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations reaffirm their unwavering solidarity with the Cuban people and government, while urging, once again, the government of the United States of America to put an immediate and unconditional end to the blockade, complying with the 31 resolutions adopted in this regard by the General Assembly of the United Nations and to immediately exclude the Republic of Cuba from the arbitrary and unilateral list of States allegedly sponsoring terrorism.

6. The Member States of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations reiterates its categorical rejection of all unilateral coercive measures, including those applied as instruments of political or economic and financial pressure against any country.