Cuban Deputy Permanent Representative Ana Silvia Rodríguez. File photo.

United Nations, March 19 (RHC) -- The transformations promoted in Cuba since the triumph of the Revolution have achieved actual results in the fight against racism and discrimination.

Cuban Deputy Permanent Representative Ana Silvia Rodríguez made this statement at an event organized by the  UN General Assembly on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The Cuban diplomat referred to a set of measures adopted on the island in the legal, economic, educational, cultural, and social spheres to eliminate the structural bases of racism and institutionalized racial discrimination.

However, despite the progress made, she said prejudices persist in some people's behavior and expressions.

'For this reason, and to have a comprehensive work tool to tackle this  issue, in November 2019, the National Program against racism and racial discrimination was approved, coordinated by a Government Commission headed by the President of the Republic.'

Among the goals of this plan are to identify the causes of discrimination; diagnose possible actions to be developed by territory and area of society; disseminate and make visible the African heritage; and encourage public debate on the racial problem, as well as its presence in the media, he detailed.

Such efforts are in line with the obligations as a State party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the commitments assumed in the Durban Declaration and Program of Action, and the International Decade for People of African Descent, she noted.

Rodriguez also warned that the world is witnessing a disturbing wave of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and hate speech against migrants and Afro-descendants.

Meanwhile, the diplomat stressed, for Cuba, 'it is a source of pride to be a uni-ethnic and mestizo nation, which is a strength of our identity.

We are a country with Indo-American, European, African, and Asian blood. The vast majority of our population is mestizo, as are our traditions, idiosyncrasy, religiosity, and popular culture, she stressed.