LOURDES CERVANTES VASQUEZ, of the Organization for the Solidarity of the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America, in a joint statement with the National Union of Jurists of Cuba and Centro Estudio sobre la Juventud, said that agenda item 9 was used to promote the interests of the industrialized and rich world which attributed to itself the right to judge, manipulate and impose special procedures on third world countries, on the basis of the false premise that the first unfailingly respected human rights, while the latter were compelled to demonstrate to this supranational tribunal that their observance of human rights was in line with the demands of the West. The selectivity, political manipulation and discriminatory nature of the assessments made by the Commission every year were increasingly evident and acceptable. With what moral authority could the United States Government judge other countries while it unconditionally supported the genocide committed by the Government of Israel as part of its policy of State terrorism against the Palestinian people who fought for their right to self-determination. How could one entertain the thought of circulating a report on the human rights situation in Iraq when it was impossible to secure a majority in the Commission to hold a special sitting on Iraq. When would the United States maneuvering against Cuba, whose people were victims of an economic, trade and financial embargo by the US, come to an end?