The International Relations Commission of the National Assembly of People’s Power of the Republic of Cuba thanks all the parliaments, parliamentary groups, organizations, entities and individuals that, in any part of the world, have spoken in recent months in favor of the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba, and expresses its appreciation for the support that practically all the governments of the world give every year to the demand made by the United Nations General Assembly to put an end to this cruel and illegitimate policy.
The blockade constitutes the most comprehensive, unequal and prolonged economic war that has ever been carried out against any nation. It is a violation of International Law and of the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations. It is a morally unsustainable policy, which it qualifies as an act of genocide. It is directed against the well-being, social stability and the satisfaction of the most basic needs of all Cubans. It imposes significant obstacles to the country’s development potential and deprives the nation of important financial and material resources necessary for the daily management of the economy, the provision of essential services, and the vitality of the country as a whole.
By firmly condemning the economic blockade, the International Relations Commission recalls that the United States government reinforced the aggression against Cuba in the framework of COVID-19, with the application of additional coercive economic measures, to which are added the actions punitive acts resulting from the reinclusion of Cuba in the spurious and arbitrary State Department list of countries that supposedly sponsor terrorism. This action continues to impose extraordinary obstacles in the difficult task of facing the pandemic and saving lives, and is a sign of the ruthless cruelty of this policy against the Cuban people.
Cuban parliamentarians also reinforce their call to all legislators in the world to join the demand for the United States to repeal the infamous Helms-Burton law, conceived to perpetuate the aggressiveness of the United States government against Cuba, to design a mechanism of colonial tutelage over the Cuban nation and to punish, threaten and intimidate individuals, organizations and governments of third countries that sovereignly exercise their right to freely interact and develop economic and commercial ties with Cuba.
We reiterate our call to the US Congress to listen to the majority sentiment of broad sectors of society in the US that advocate for the end of the blockade, and to take the necessary steps to put an end to this stagnant policy against Cuba. We invite the US legislature to establish channels of dialogue with Cuba that contribute to the development of exchanges and collaboration in areas of mutual bilateral interest.
The International Relations Commission reiterates at the same time, with absolute certainty, the unyielding will of the Cuban people to resist and win.
Havana, May 28, 2021.
