I must begin by expressing, on behalf of my country and my people, our gratitude for Cuba's integration into BRICS as a partner. BRICS today is a synonym for hope—hope that multilateralism might be salvaged from the chaos and paralysis into which the arrogance of a few has plunged the United Nations. That organization, born 80 years ago to prevent war as a means of conflict resolution, is in urgent need of deep reforms, long demanded by the Global South for over half a century.

The aging institution is dangerously fragmented and severely threatened by a progressive erosion of multilateralism, resulting in heightened risks to international peace and security.

The horrors witnessed in recent weeks and months clearly reveal the consequences of diplomacy through force. The United States government, using and abusing its unquestionable military, economic, financial, and other forms of power—except moral—acts with blatant disregard for the principles and norms of international law and the UN Charter. It withdraws from international organizations and forums, supports the annexation of territories, promotes supremacist ideologies, enforces mass and often violent deportations of migrants, and makes no effort to conceal its self-serving geopolitical ambitions.

This is the same power that supported recent Israeli attacks against Iran and even directly assaulted the Persian nation with strikes on three nuclear facilities.

Cuba reiterates its solidarity with the people and government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the face of aggression by Israel and strongly condemns the United States’ military action. These acts represent a flagrant violation of the UN Charter and international law, as well as a serious breach of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Likewise, we reaffirm our strongest condemnation of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, also carried out by Israel with the constant political, military, and financial support of the United States. That government ensures the Zionist regime's impunity and obstructs the UN Security Council through its undemocratic use of the veto.

A broad, just, and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is essential to restoring peace in the Middle East during this critical moment in international relations.

Until such atrocities cease, we remain stuck in the prehistory of what the United Nations once promised as a platform for peace.

That is why I speak of hope. In the face of this threatening scenario, BRICS emerges as a beacon. Its member and partner countries, so diverse and unequal in levels of development, are united in the promotion of shared ideals—peace, dialogue, mutual respect, cooperation, and solidarity.

The group’s commitment to building a more just and inclusive international order is truly inspiring. Without such an order, sustainable development will remain out of reach for nations burdened by the lingering legacy of colonialism and neocolonialism.

This effort requires the urgent overhaul of the current global financial architecture and its opaque and undemocratic institutions, which were designed to maintain the exclusion and exploitation of the Global South.

It also demands a more inclusive and democratic governance of artificial intelligence, ensuring all countries can benefit from this technology and preventing its misuse against peace and international law.

Present and future generations have the right to live in a world of peace and security, marked by social justice, respect for cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity, and democratic access to science and technology. A world where all human rights are achievable for all people, without politicization or double standards, based on cooperation and respect for each country’s right to choose its own political, economic, and social system without external interference. A world without cruel blockades or unilateral coercive measures in violation of international law.

After six decades of enduring an economic blockade codified into the laws of a foreign nation—and repeatedly strengthened with the explicit goal of inciting social collapse—Cuba now faces a new act of imperial arrogance that blatantly disregards international law.

We arrive at this summit with the news of yet another package of coercive measures, added to the historic blockade through a Presidential Memorandum. This document revives the old imperial notion that it is their right to decide who and how we should govern ourselves—all in the name of so-called democracy.

No other nation has had to build its social and development project under such a prolonged, cruel, and systematic economic, commercial, and financial siege by the world’s most powerful country.

The blockade is an act of aggression, offensively extraterritorial in scope, that undermines the sovereignty of all states. It is rooted in the past, has no legitimate justification, and must end.

In the 21st century, there is no place for unilateral lists or certifications based on unfounded criteria, such as the unjust and arbitrary designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. This designation only extends the siege to the rest of the world. The United States has neither the moral authority nor any international mandate to certify Cuba or any other nation.

To address our shared challenges, humanity does not need blockades, false claims of supremacy, or the pursuit of domination and exploitation. What we urgently need is greater respect for our legitimate differences, more dialogue, cooperation, and integration.

There is a pressing need for renewed and firm commitment to multilateralism, in order to secure peaceful coexistence and to promote sustainable, equitable, and inclusive development for all peoples. For this reason, we must nourish and strengthen BRICS, which we are honored to join with the noble aim of contributing and learning.

In this endeavor, Cuba will always stand ready.

Thank you very much. (Applause)