Parliamentarians From 73 Countries Ask to ‘Take Cuba Off the List’
Map of Cuba covered by its flag. X/ @JoseCarlosRRuiz
September 20, 2024 Hour: 1:21 pm
Nations on the U.S. list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism’ face severe sanctions that hamper access to medicines and food.
On Friday, the Progressive International published a letter in which nearly 600 parliamentarians from 73 countries condemned the designation of Cuba by the United States as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism,” calling it “cynical, cruel, and a clear violation of international law.”
RELATED:
Cuba Expresses Its Support to Gustavo Petro After Coup Attempts Denounces
The designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the United States, which was removed in 2015 after a thorough evaluation by the Obama administration, was reinstated in the final days of Trump’s presidency in 2021.
Countries on the U.S. list face severe sanctions that make access to medicine and food difficult. Among those countries are Syria, Iran, and North Korea, which have been on the list since 2017. President Joe Biden has not removed the designation, despite having promised a return to Obama-era policies.
Among the most prominent signatories of the letter are the former president of the Belgian Workers’ Party Peter Mertens, Brazilian congresswoman Celia Xakriaba, Canadian MP Niki Ashton, Colombian senator Clara López Obregón, former secretary-general of Cyprus’s Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) Andros Kyprianou, Ecuadorian MP Jahiren Noriega, French MP Arnaud Le Gall, leader of Germany’s Die Linke party Martin Schirdewan, Ghanaian MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, secretary-general of Greece’s Communist Party (KKE) Dimitris Koutsoumpas, former president of Guyana Donald Ramotar, leader of Spain’s Podemos party Ione Belarra, and former UK Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
The full text of the letter is presented below:
We, the undersigned parliamentarians from around the world, condemn the designation of Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” and call on our respective governments to take immediate action to advocate for its removal.
The designation of Cuba as a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” by the United States is cynical, cruel, and a clear violation of international law.
The designation, which was removed in 2015 following an exhaustive review by the Obama administration, was reinstated in the final days of Trump’s presidency as a final act of his economic war campaign against the island.
As a candidate, Joe Biden promised to restore the diplomatic relationship fostered by his Democratic predecessor. But as president, Biden has reneged—even after the Colombian government withdrew extradition charges against members of its National Liberation Army (ELN), the original justification for Trump’s reimposition of the “State Sponsor” designation.
The designation is therefore cynical, because Cuba, far from sponsoring terrorism, has served as a key mediator in peace talks between the Colombian government, the ELN, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The current talks mark a decade since Cuba convened CELAC member states to declare the region a Zone of Peace, “based on respect for the principles and norms of international law.”
The designation is cruel because it is designed to maximize the suffering of the Cuban people by strangling their economy, displacing their families, and even restricting the flow of humanitarian aid. According to United Nations experts, the designation has weakened “fundamental human rights, including the right to food, the right to health, the right to education, economic and social rights, the right to life, and the right to development.”
Finally, the designation is illegal because it undermines “the principle of sovereign equality of states, the prohibition of interference in the internal affairs of states, and the principle of the peaceful settlement of international disputes,” according to UN legal experts. The extreme and extraterritorial sanctions triggered by the designation thus constitute a clear violation of international law.
In May 2024, the U.S. State Department finally removed Cuba from the list of States that “do not fully cooperate” with the United States in counterterrorism efforts. But this is not enough. Cuba continues to suffer as a result of its cynical, cruel, and illegal exclusion from the international economy.
With this letter, we emphasize the urgency of removing Cuba from the list of “State Sponsors of Terrorism” in the name of dignity, decency, and the integrity of the UN Charter, and we call on our governments to use all diplomatic means to correct this grave injustice.”
teleSUR/ JF Source: Progressive International
