Amnesty criticises President Obama’s decision on Cuba

In a statement release September 8th Amnesty International has criticised the Obama administration for renewing the blockade of Cuba. The refusal to change course is, according to Amnesty a “long overdue step toward dismantling a policy that is both ineffective and detrimental.”

The statement notes that the blockades

"...impact on economic and social rights, concluded that sanctions, which the USA has imposed since 1962, are negatively affecting Cuban access to medicines and medical technologies and endangering the health of millions. United Nations agencies and programs operating in Cuba, such as UNICEF, UNAIDS and UNFPA, have reported that the US embargo has undermined the implementation of programs aimed at improving the living conditions of Cubans."

The full statement can be found on Amnesty’s webpage

Amnesty International’s 2009 report, The US embargo against Cuba: Its impact on economic and social rights, can be found here

Obama Prolongs US Blockade of Cuba

President Barack Obama notified on Friday the extension of sanctions against Cuba as established by the Trade with the Enemy Act. The action aims at maintaining the US economic, financial and commercial US blockade on the Caribbean nation.

A communiqué released by The White House explains that Obama signed and send a memorandum to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and to the Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner extending the enforcement of the legislation until September 14, 2011.

In the memorandum, the US President explains that the extension for a year of these measures on Cuba is in the national interests of the United States.

By extending these regulations, Washington reiterates its stance that the Cuban government is still a risk for US national security and therefore it prohibits US companies from making business with Cuba.

The renovation of the measures is just the same old story, since previous US administrations continued to extend the regulations annually; so then, Obama follows up on the same policy without any change at all.

Cuba is the only country of the world submitted to sanctions established by the Trade with the Enemy Act, which dates back to 1917, after the Bush administration decided to not renew such regulations in 2008 against the People´s Democratic Republic of Korea. 

Source Granma

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The Blockade – Amnesty International’s View