Cuba in Geneva Reaffirms Commitment to Children
Geneva, Jun 8 (Prensa Latina) Cuba reaffirmed on Wednesday its commitment to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and highlighted the island´s humanistic vocation, reflected daily in its social programs. Addressing the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno stated that actions to benefit children and adolescents began to be implemented immediately after the victory of the Revolution in 1959.
In presenting Cuba´s report, Morena stated that in virtue of the government´s political will and efforts, the promotion and protection of the rights of children and adolescents became a top priority issue.
Cuba is currently carrying out major efforts to temper national legislation with the Convention´s principles regarding the applicable age, the diplomat said.
Cuba has ratified many of these instruments, including protocols on the sale of children, child prostitution, and the use of children in pornography, and the participation of children in armed conflicts.
Over 50 percent of current state spending is allocated to health care, education, services, social security and culture, Moreno said.
On this issue, the Cuban diplomat said the infant mortality rate in Cuba, which in the late 1990's was 7.9 per 1,000 live births, was 4.5 per 1,000 in 2010, with rates of zero mortality in 21 municipalities.
The head of the Cuban delegation also referred to careful State attention to education, particularly for people with disabilities and physical limitations, and gave a breakdown of its extensive international cooperation in this and other spheres.
"The economic, trade and financial blockade, aggression and terrorist actions, and the permanent policy of anti-Cuban hostility by successive U.S. administrations are the most serious and major negative factors," Moreno stated.
