Cuban Foreign Minister Recalls Fidel Castro’s Historic UN Speech

Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, today commemorated the historic speech delivered by the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, at the United Nations General Assembly 65 years ago.

On his X social media account, the minister wrote that “65 years ago, the Commander in Chief delivered his first speech at the UN, a milestone in the history of the organization and our revolutionary diplomacy, where he stated: ‘Eliminate the philosophy of plunder, and the philosophy of war will disappear.’”

Rodríguez leads the Cuban delegation participating in New York at the High-Level Segment of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.

On Friday, while addressing the UN High-Level Plenary Meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the Cuban minister began his remarks by quoting Fidel Castro in a reflection dated October 15, 2010.

“Peoples are duty-bound to demand from political leaders their right to live. When the life of one’s species, one’s people, and loved ones is at such risk, no one can afford to be indifferent, nor can a minute be wasted demanding respect for that right; tomorrow would be too late,” Rodríguez cited.

He used the quote to open an address emphasizing the undeniable necessity and urgency of nuclear disarmament.

Coincidentally, on the afternoon of September 26, 1960, at 2:40 p.m., the young Fidel, dressed in his olive-green uniform and serving as the Caribbean nation’s Prime Minister, spoke from the UN General Assembly podium. “We will speak clearly,” he began.

The revolutionary leader declared: “There is talk of the universal desire for peace, which is the desire of all peoples and, therefore, also the desire of our people. But that peace, which the world wishes to preserve, is a peace that we Cubans have not known for a long time.”

He further denounced that “wars, since the dawn of humanity, have arisen fundamentally for one reason: the desire of some to plunder the wealth of others.”

“Eliminate the philosophy of plunder, and the philosophy of war will disappear! Let colonies vanish, let the exploitation of countries by monopolies end, and humanity will then reach a true stage of progress!” he proclaimed that day.

“The world must be awakened to see who negotiates with humanity’s fate, who plays with the threat of war, especially when war could be so dreadful that there may be no hope of salvation for the world,” Fidel concluded.

Even six and a half decades later, his monumental address still holds the record at the UN for its length and endures as a landmark of oratory, clearly defining Cuba’s position and setting the course for the country’s current revolutionary diplomacy.