Washington, May 6 (RHC)—Leading organizations of environmental and agricultural activists in the United States have sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris urging them to change current policies toward Cuba.
The signatories are leaders and activists from diverse organizations representing farmers, agro-ecologists, environmentalists, academics, civil society, and climate justice movements.
The text recalled that recently the White House spokesperson said that "human rights will be a core pillar of US policy" towards Cuba.
The letter argues that food, agriculture, and the climate crisis all qualify as human rights issues. Therefore, a policy position guided by human rights needs to address how US sanctions towards Cuba severely limit the rights of Cuban citizens to food security, climate justice, and dignity.
The signatories urged President Biden and his administration to move quickly and comprehensively to make good on his campaign policy "to reverse the failed Trump policies that inflicted harm on Cubans and their families."
They recommended executive actions that return the regulations governing trade and travel to Cuba to their status of January 20, 2017, immediately end application of any sanctions and restrictions against food, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance and humanitarian cooperation to Cuba, including restrictions on financial and banking transactions.
Likewise, they suggested the restoration of a fully functioning US Embassy and consular services in Cuba and re-launch the bilateral working groups.
"We are facing a moment when ideology and politics must be put aside in order to urgently come together as a unified global community to confront the common global threats of Covid-19 and the climatic crisis...Cuba has so much to contribute and should not be hindered by the cruel and inhumane effects of a decades-long embargo".
ActionAid USA, Central Florida Jobs with Justice, Family Farm Defenders, and National Latino Farmers and Ranchers Trade Association are some of two dozen organizations which signed the letter.
