The blockade of Cuba is a policy of war in times of peace

  United Nations, 30 October (RHC) The UN vote today on the resolution presented by Cuba calling for an end to the blockade is accompanied by an almost unanimous demand for an end to this policy of war in times of peace.

The General Assembly is considering a detailed report prepared by the UN General Secretariat with contributions from 180 countries and some thirty organizations affiliated to the Forum.

Agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Program, and global trade and tourism bodies all point to the critical impact of this policy in each of their areas of interest.

For the UN Human Rights Office, 'a 65-year embargo against an entire country clearly raises serious concerns in this regard'.

Meanwhile, Cuba's inclusion on the list of alleged sponsors of terrorism, added to the cumulative effect of more than 60 years of imposed measures and the context of recovery after Covid-19, is having a serious impact on the capacity of the largest of the Antilles.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights called for a relaxation of the coercive measures after receiving information about their negative impact on the population's fundamental guarantees.

For its part, Cuba denounced in the report the prolongation of unilateral measures with the greatest impact on the Cuban people and economy, which continue to reproduce and aggravate the devastating effects of the siege, the longest and most comprehensive in history.

Between March 2023 and February 2024, the United States government maintained a policy of maximum pressure against Cuba, with the rigorous application of the economic, commercial and financial blockade as its cornerstone," detailed the representation of the largest of the Antilles.

According to the report, this policy is being maintained with the historic objective of depressing the economy and salaries, causing material shortages and damage to public services, provoking dissatisfaction and despair among the population and undermining the legitimately established constitutional order.

The blockade is a crime against humanity, an act of genocide and a flagrant, massive and systematic violation of the human rights of more than 11 million Cubans. It is a cruel policy of punishment,' the document continued.

The first measures against Cuba were announced in 1959, shortly after the triumph of the revolution.

But it was not until 1962 that John F Kennedy's administration announced the first major block of long-standing measures.

Provisions such as the Helms-Burton Act of 1996, the inclusion on several occasions in the list of "state sponsors" of terrorism, and the more than 240 new measures adopted during the Donald Trump administration (2017-2021) confirm the hostility of the siege, which Cuba describes as a policy of war in times of peace. (Source: PL)