- Had enough of the New Zealand Government condemning the U.S.A's illegal Blockade once at year at the UN then doing nothing to give the resolution meaning?
Get Active with the
July 26th Committee - Aotearoa
with your
- Cellphone number
- Location (where you'll on July 26th 2023)
Dale Frew 027 478-4268Mick Williams 027 548-1242
Regional Contacts
Auckland: Mike Treen 029 525-4744
Dunedin: Jen Olsen 021 0293-8288
Hawkes Bay: Warren Brewer 027 226-9950
more coming
The US blockade or ‘el bloqueo’ as it is known in Cuba – is a collection of US laws and legislation which restricts Cuba's ability to have trade and normal relations with the US, and in some cases, other countries too.
The US government first imposed economic, commercial, and financial restrictions on Cuba in October 1960 shortly after the 1959 Cuban Revolution. In February 1962 the blockade was extended to include almost all imports. Further legislation in the 1990s further strengthened and codified the blockade into US law, meaning that it can only be fully lifted by an act of Congress.
Although the economic aspect is central, the effects of the blockade are wide-reaching encompassing health, education, access to basic provisions as well as sports and culture.
Children’s hospitals face obstacles when it comes to acquiring specialist materials suitable for small children, most of which come from the US.
Though US sales of food to Cuba have been allowed since 2000, they are governed by the application of strict measures of supervision and a complicated and bureaucratic process. Cuba is forced by the blockade to spend vast sums of additional money to import food from other markets. For example, seed potatoes imported to Cuba must be imported with freight costs 50% higher than if they were bought from the US.
In 2009, Amnesty International called for the blockade against Cuba to be lifted, stating that “it is highly detrimental to Cubans' enjoyment of a range of economic, social and cultural rights, such as food, health and sanitation – particularly affecting the weakest and most vulnerable members of the population... (the blockade) is highly detrimental to Cubans' enjoyment of human rights”.
Cuba estimates that the cost of the blockade since its introduction is now over $753 billion*.
In October 2022 the United Nations General Assembly voted for the 29th consecutive year on a resolution calling for an end to the illegal blockade of Cuba. 191 countries - the largest amount in the vote's history - voted for an end to the blockade, and historically, zero countries voted against - just the US and Israel abstained. In October 2017, following the election of Donald Trump and his 'new' Cuba policy, the US and Israel returned to voting against Cuba's resolution; 191 countries voted in favour of ending the blockade, 2 against and zero abstentions.
a little more background
US Sanctions Are Deadly, Illegal and Ineffective
