| WHITE BOOK 2006 >> FOURTH PART >>CHAPTER 1 | ||
CHAPTER 1: NEW MEASURES THAT INTENSIFY THE GENOCIDAL ECONOMIC, COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL BLOCKADE IMPOSED ON THE CUBAN PEOPLE For over 40 years, the Cuban people have suffered an economic, commercial and financial blockade designed to crush their resistance and make it renounce its right to sovereignty and independence. The George W. Bush administration has taken this genocidal policy towards the Cuban nation to unprecedented extremes. The demand to end this policy, expressed at the major multilateral forums in the recent years, among them the Second Summit of the South Countries of the Group of 77, the ACS Summit, the Ibero-American Summit, the Summit of the Information Society and reiterated by an overwhelming majority of the UN member states by means of similar resolutions year in, confronts behaviour by the US authorities that is openly contemptuous of international law. The policy seeks not merely to suppress the Cuban people and damage its relations with other nations, but also ignores or restricts essential freedoms - some constitutional - of the American people. Last year will go down in history as one of the most notable for the hostility, cynicism and irrationality with which the criminal blockade against Cuba has been applied. The new measures planned and carried out by Washington during the year add to and elaborate on the framework of laws and regulations that have formed and escalated the blockade for over 40 years. There is no doubt that successive US administrations have sought to destroy the Cuban Revolution with the application of the criminal blockade, but this time the Empire, has publicly and shamelessly committed to a plan aimed at restoring capitalism and its domination on the Cuban nation, a process that would eventually lead to the loss of the rights and accomplishments that the Cuban people have fought for. There is absolutely no rule of international law that justifies blockade in peacetime. Since the 1909 London Naval Conference, it has been a defined principle of international law that a blockade is an act of war and its use is accordingly restricted to the belligerents. The US Trading with the Enemy Act allows the President to impose emergency economic measures, but only during wartime or in response to an obvious threat to national security. Various regional and multilateral accords condemn such acts as prejudicial to peace and to international security. In accordance with Article II(c) of the Geneva Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (December 9, 1948), the blockade maintained against Cuba amounts to an act of genocide. The complete baselessness of the widely differing explanations employed by successive US administrations for over 40 years as pretexts for their economic war on Cuba has been demonstrated by certain of their own official documents, declassified in 1991. These include testimony and irrefutable proof that these hostilities predated any measure adopted by the Revolutionary Government from 1959 onwards. The representatives of the Batista dictatorship fled to the United States with $424 million stolen from the Republic's funds. This sum was deposited in American banks and has never been returned to the Cuban people. Worse, in 1959, just five weeks after the people's victory, America rejected a request from the new authorities for a modest loan to maintain the stability of the domestic currency. The Cuban revolutionary government adopted a series of legitimate measures designed to recover the nation's wealth and place it at the service of the people. The reaction of the United States was prompt and aggressive. On July 8, 1959, in retaliation for the adoption of the Cuban Agrarian Reform Law, the US Congress granted the president wider powers for suspending foreign aid to any country that expropriated US assets. A number of unilateral sanctions against Cuba aimed at wrecking its economy followed in quick succession. Abolition of Cuba's sugar quota (July 1960) was succeeded by banning of aid to Cuba, the launching of a trade blockade (Section 620/a of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961), and refusal by US firms on instructions from Washington to refine the Russian oil Cuba was obliged to import following the banning of sales of fuel to Cuban purchasers imposed on American suppliers. On February 3, 1962, President Kennedy issued Presidential Proclamation 3447, imposing a total blockade on trade with Cuba and instructed the Treasury Secretary to apply the ban on exports to Cuba. The Proclamation historically marked the public institutionalization of sanctions against Cuba which, as we have seen, had started a lot earlier. As early as April 6, 1960, a report by Department of State official I. D. Mallory, declassified in 1991, highlighted the purpose of the economic pressures being applied, by saying: “… the majority of Cubans support Castro (…) there is no effective political opposition (…) the only foreseeable means of alienating internal support is through disenchantment and disaffection based on economic dissatisfaction and hardship. Every possible means should be undertaken promptly to weaken the economic life of Cuba (…) A line of action that makes the greatest inroads in denying money and supplies to Cuba, to decrease monetary and real wages, to bring about hunger, desperation and the overthrow of the government.” This document does not attempt a comprehensive historical analysis of the various stages in Washington's genocidal policy of blockade against Cuba. An appreciation of the criminal nature, petty motives and disastrous consequences of this policy for the exercise of the Cuban people's human rights can be gleaned from just a few notes on the way it has operated in recent months. Provisions issued in the Report of the so called “Commission for the Assistance to a Free Cuba” came into force in June 30, 2004, President George W. Bush’s previous approval on May 6. Hundreds of new actions included in the 450 report aimed at reinforcing the blockade and pave the way for a US military intervention that allows the imposition of a “change or regime” as proclaimed by the US president himself on May 20, 2004. The most significant events marking the escalation in the economic war on Cuba, between the summer of 2003 and the end of last year, include the following: • On July 8, 2004, in accordance with President Bush’s Proclamation 7757, the Coastguard Service issued new regulations imposing restrictions on leisure boats intending to sail to Cuban waters, as a way to deprive Cuba of financial resources and reinforce the blockade. Sanctions range between 25 thousand dollars or five years imprisonment or both, as well as the confiscation of the offenders’ boats. On February 18, 2005, President Bush himself ratifies the purposes of this Proclamation. • On September 30, 2004, the US State Department, announced that “citizens or permanent residents in the US cannot legally purchase Cuban products, liquors and cigars included, not even in a third country or for personal use overseas”. Penal sanctions for the violation of these Regulations can amount one million dollars in fines for corporations and 250 thousand dollars and up to 10 years imprisonment for natural individuals. • On October 9, 2004, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. Department of State, Dan Fisk, announced the establishment of a “Group of Prosecution of Cuban Assets” to investigate new ways of the movements of currency to and from Cuba and stop them, particularly mentioning “tourism”, which has substituted sugar exports as may source of currency”. • On February 22 2005, OFAC reinterpreted the concept of “payment in cash and in advance” for Cuba’s purchase in US of agricultural and medical commodities, as it decreed that payment should be delivered before the merchandise is loaded at US ports to be shipped towards Cuba. This measure entered into force right in March 2005 and poses an additional obstacle to the existing restrictions on Cuban imports from the USA. • On February 24 2005 a Court of Appeal invalidated a New York attorney’s decision dated March 29, 2004, ruling that the United States, in compliance with international treaties, is forced to recognize the rights of the Cuban enterprise CUBATABACO over the brand Cohiba within the US territory, under the policy of renown brand. On June 1st, 2005, the Second Circuit Court of Appeal rejected the CUBATABACO request to review the Court’s negative ruling. • On March 31st, 2005, new OFAC’s regulations entered into force for the granting of licenses to US religious organizations travelling to Cuba for religious purposes. According to these regulations, those groups cannot exceed 25 persons, they can travel only once every three months and licenses will be valid only for year. OFAC will have the right to authorize licenses for groups of more than 25 people and for longer stays, on a “case by case” analysis. • On April 19, 2005, Rep, Tom Feeney (R-FL) introduced the draft project H.R. 1689 “To modify the prohibition on recognition by United States courts of certain rights relating to certain marks, trade names, or commercial names”. This draft project is closely connected with another one introduced on April 4 of that year by senator Pete Domenici (R-NM). Both projects are aimed at imposing cosmetic changes to Section 211 to deprive Cuba of the Havana Club trade mark. • On June 2, 2005, the Head of the State Department Cuban Affairs Office, Kevin Whitaker, expressed satisfaction for the work of the “Commission for the Assistance to a Free Cuba”, stressing that important progress has been made in the accomplishment of the tasks and there would be more in the future. He underlined that there have been weekly flights for the TV transmissions since August 2004, the number of Americans travelling to Cuba has shrunk and the country’s incomes have decreased almost 60%. He said that a coordinator to back up the six tasks encompassed in Chapter I of the Report of the Commission will be appointed. • On July 27 2005, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Roger Noriega, referred to the 8.9 million dollar grant for 2005 and 15 million dollars for 2006 for the implementation of the recommendations of the “Commission for the Assistance to a Free Cuba”. He ensured that this “assistance” is aimed at guaranteeing the transition to democracy and not a succession as the Cuban “regime” plans. • On August 11 2005, the Justice Department reported that the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States had enacted a new program on Cuba for joint ventures and US nationals to present new claming against the Cuban government involving nationalized properties after the termination of the previous program, on May 1st 1967, and which could not table their cases then. March 13, 2006 was set as deadline for such claimings. • On October 31, 2005, the Financial Times reproduced the statements by the so called Coordinator for the Transition in Cuba, Caleb McCarry, who said that the “reinforcement of the economic blockade caused losses amounting 500 million dollars to Castro’s regime”. Moreover, the US Government have continued to ignore the public opinion of its country which has shown its opposition to the blockade through numberless expressions and acts in Congress and in state governments and through political personalities and intellectuals, NGOs and business people. Among them: • On July 7, 2004, the House of Representatives passed an amendment by Representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ), banning the use of funds to apply new regulations on the sending of packages and the limitation of personal luggage of travellers to Cuba. • On September 21, 2004, the House okayed an amendment by Representative Jim Davis (D-FL) banning the use of OFAC’s funds to enforce restrictions on travels of Cuban émigrés to the Isle, in force as from June 30, 2004. • On September 22 2004, the House approved two amendments on Cuba to the “Transportation, Treasury and Housing Appropriation Act 2005”, The first one, at the proposed by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Charles Rangel (D.NY) prohibiting the use of funds to administer or implement OFAC’s funds to apply regulations enforced on June 30 hindering the student programs in Cuba. The second one, tabled by Rep. Maxime Waters (D-.CA), prohibits the use of funds approved to apply restriction to exports of food commodities and medicines to Cuba, including those relative to the access to private credits. All these amendments were rejected in the final draft of the acts, using several procedural sophistries. • On January 4 2005, Representative José Serrano (D-NY) introduced 2 draft bills, H.R. 208 “Cuba Reconciliation Act”, aimed, among other aspects, at eliminating the blockade; and H.R.209 “The Baseball Diplomacy Act”, seeking to waive certain prohibitions with respect to nationals of Cuba coming to the United States to play organized professional baseball, returning to Cuba their earnings. • On April 26 2005, the Cuba-USA Trade Association was officially announced, with 30 companies, state-owned agencies and organization of 19 US states, seeking to work for the elimination of the restrictions to trade with Cuba. Among its members were large enterprises such as ADM, Carterpillar and Cargill. The Board of Directors is made up of several former secretaries of Commerce, Defense, a former Commercial Representatie and a former CIA director, as well as personalities like David Rockefeller. • On April 27 2005, the Action Day on Cuba is celebrated in Congress, aimed, mainly, at promoting the lifting of travel bans. Among the attendants were 600 to 800 people favoring the change of policy, among them: NGOs representatives, businessmen and c/a from 35 States. • On July 8 2005, the USA-Cuba Trade Association sent a letter to more than 20 senators, including the members of the Appropriation Committee, urging them to ease the process of sales to Cuba. This letter was endorsed by 62 national associations, organizations and agricultural companies from 20 states. • On July 21 2005, representative Jeff Flake (R-AZ) introduced the draft bill amied at eliminating Section 211 and re-establish authorities of the courts to recognize, comply with and validate any statement on the rights over a trademark. • On November 2005, 360 businessmen from 30 States attended the Havana International Fair, representing 169 companies. Attending also were several state authorities,among them the Governor of Nebraska, David Heineman, North Dakota’s Secretary of Agriculture of North Dakota, Roger Jonson; Alabama Secretary of Agriculture, Ron Sparks, who came with three senators and four state representatives; Michigan Director of Agriculture Robert Green; and Speaker Emeritus of the Georgia House of Representatives Terry Coleman. All along 2005, US Representatives and Senators, both Republicans and Democrats tabled several draft bills and amendments to emilinate different prohibitions enshrined in the blockade – which violate both individual and collective rights. Some of them had to be dismissed or never made any progress on account of the strong anti-Cuban loby of the Miami terrorist mob and the US ultraright wingers. The economic, financial and commercial blockade that ten US administrations have enforced and intensified against Cuba are part of a larger policy of hostility and aggression towards the very existence of the Cuban nation as a sovereign and independent entity built by Cubans for Cubans. Among the milestones in the process of tightening the blockade and extending its scope was the passing in 1992 of the 'Torricelli Act', conceived with the cynical and criminal intent of delivering the final and fatal blow to Cuba's economy. This legislation abruptly cut off Cuba's trade in medicines and food with the subsidiaries of US firms in third countries, at a time when 85% of Cuban foreign trade had disappeared with the disintegration of the socialist camp in Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The criminal intention of undermining the Cuban people's rights as regards healthcare and food supply was quite clear. In 1991, Cuba's imports from subsidiaries of US concerns totalled $718 million, of which 91% was represented by food and medicines. It also imposed severe bans on navigation to and from Cuba, i.a.: vessels form third countries that moor in Cuban ports, will not be allowed admittance to US ports in the subsequent six months and until a new permit is issued for them, thereby institutionalizing with force of law provisions that are clearly extraterritorial. Such actions, in addition to openly breach the rights of other international actors, prove that the blockade is not a bilateral issue, as successive US administrations have tried to demonstrate. In 1996, the Helms-Burton Act was passed. Among other aspects, this legislation: firmed up and filled in the details of the existing mechanisms designed to eliminate the last vestiges of economic, trading and financial links between US firms and Cuba; increased the number and scope of the extraterritorial measures, with the aim of tracking down any transaction or business that might benefit the Cuban economy; imposed persecution and sanctions on foreign investors in Cuba; authorized the funding of hostile, subversive and aggressive actions against the Cuban people, via a program designed to destroy a constitutional system chosen by the Cuban people, and to impose a 'change of regime' that would ensure the achievement of the US power basic aim of dominating the Cuban nation. Since that time, a whole series of new actions and measures of hostility and aggression have appeared in quick succession, in attempts to close up every possible loophole in the wall of sanctions erected by the blockade. According to figures updated in 2005 by the National Statistical Office of the Republic of Cuba, over 70% of the resident population was born and has lived under the unilateral coercive regime of sanctions deriving from the US blockade, as a result of its sovereign decision to uphold its right to self-determination, refusing to relinquish its quest for independence, social justice and equity. A preliminary financial evaluation of the direct effects suffered by the Cuban population of the application of this genocidal measure for over 40 years indicates a loss of over 82,000.000 dollars - an average of 1,782 million dollars a year. This conservative figure does not include the 54 billion dollars attributable to direct damage to economic and social objectives from acts of sabotage and terrorism incited, organized and funded from the United States. Neither does it reflect the value of goods not produced due to the restrictions, or the losses arising from the onerous conditions imposed on Cuba in respect of banking and international debt financing for investment and business. Had Cuba been able to access funding at similar levels and on the same average terms as those applying to other nations in the region at a similar stage of economic development, Cuba's economy would be marked by a much faster rate of growth and of improvement in the living standards of the population - a direct expression of the exercise of economic, social and cultural rights and the right to develop. Without the annual drain on resources caused by the US blockade, the additional funds would have had a multiplier effect on living standards and the population's rights. For example: - Just an extra $127.6 million a year would have provided 1.2 million children of between 7 and 15 years with a litter of milk every day. Currently, a litter a day at subsidized prices can only be provided until age 7. - An extra $51.8 million would be enough to double the quota of chicken presently distributed monthly to all Cubans via the ration-book system. - 3.5 million dollars more would have been enough to purchase more than 5 thousand tons of fish for the population, thus enhancing an important source of food. - One billion a year would have been sufficient to fund the construction of 100,000 new homes annually, nation-wide. Within 5 years, 2.5 million Cubans (nearly a quarter of the population) could have been adequately housed. - With 60 million dollars a year the main shortages in education, which is provided free for the people, would have been eradicated. - With a little more than 3 million dollars a year, all the material needs of the Program of Schools for Boys and Girls with Special Education Need, freely provided for the children, would have been solved. It would be impossible for the Bush administration to maintain its policy of hostility, blockade and aggression towards Cuba in the context of the presumed need to promote and protect human rights in the country. How could a government responsible for the most appalling, premeditated aggression towards policies and programs designed to promote economic development, wellbeing, security and right to life of Cubans lay claim to the title of defender of the human rights of the Cuban people? The Bush administration has greatly increased the severity of the blockade imposed on Cuba. At the end of 2003, U.S. senators and congressmen publicly reported that OFAC employed five times as many agents to identify and investigate infractions of the Cuba blockade laws than it assigned to tracing the finances of Al-Qaeda. Between 1990 and 2003, whereas OFAC launched 93 inquiries relating to international terrorism, it initiated 10,683 under the procedures aimed at preventing Americans from exercising their right to visit Cuba. On the basis of the 93 terrorism-related cases, OFAC fined the offenders a total of $9,425; the fines imposed on US citizens who went to Cuba without a Treasury Department permit totalled $8 million. In a report dated February 9, 2004, OFAC expresses its satisfaction at the fact that its Civil Penalties Division had at that time a list of 200 actions relating to infractions of the blockade on Cuba and that most of these had resulted in the imposition of fines. It further announced that between October 10 and November 30, 2003, it had notified 348 new criminal actions arising from activities of this kind. Recently, the Bush Administration has continued intensifying the harassment, intimidation and sanctions on people, institutions and even NGOs for their links with Cuba, blatantly violating its rights. Let’s see some examples to illustrate such an assertion and demonstrate the evil intentions behind them: - On July 6 2004, OFAC warned the main members of the solidarity Caravan organized by US “Pastors for Peace”, who come to Cuba without the Treasure Department’s licence, must face sanctions provided in the regulations. Traditionally, the Caravan has travelled to Cuba carrying donations of medicines, used computers, toys and books among other items. A year later, it was known that On July 21 2005, officials from the US Customs and Border Protection confiscated 43 boxes with PCs at Hidalgo, Texas, a State where most of Pastors for Peace caravaneers crossed the US-Mexico border. - On November 12 2004, the president of the Cuban American Alliance for Educational Funds received a letter from OFAC requesting the visa of all people and institutions benefiting from its travel permits in the last five years. - On January 18-19 2005, during her confirmation hearing as Secretary of State, at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Condoleezza Rice ensured that she would pay special attention to the implementation of the recommendations of the “Commission for the Assistance to a Free Cuba” and reiterated that the “prohibition for Americans to travel to Cuba was due to the need to cut the benefits that those travel would generate for the Cuban regimen” - On February 7 2005, a judge ruled the payment of a 9 thousand 750 dollars fine against a Michigan matrimony who had visited Cuba in April 2001, because they made a medical donation to a religious congregation. - On March 30 2005, OFAC sent a letter to U.S-Cuba Labour Exchange, urging to “cease and abstain from” promoting and arranging the trip to Cuba of a delegation that would attend the IV Hemispheric Meeting on the Fight against FTAA and the activities for the International Labour Day. OFAC further demanded a detailed list of the members of the afore-mentioned delegation in no more than 20 working days. - On April 2005, OFAC sent a circular to organizations with travel licenses to Cuba for religious purposes, informing that “alleged abuse of religious licenses” are under investigation, which might lead to suspension or revocation of licenses with administrative fines or penal sanctions. The letter emphasized those donations to Cuba from individuals, religious organizations or groups required the authorization of the Trade Department. - On July 29 2005 it was known that Stefan E. Brodie, former “Purelite” CEO was declared guilty of engaging in illegal commercial business with Cuba in mid 90s. As part of an agreement with the Attorney’s office, Brodie was fined with 10 thousand dollars and sentenced to one year on parole. - On October 12 2005, OFAC reported that six US citizens were charged with 8 thousand 875 dollars for travelling to Cuba, violating the blockade regulations. Four of them were charged for lodging, transporting and purchasing foodstuff and liquor in our country. The other two were charged for importing Cuban commodities into the United States. - During November 2005’s first fortnight, OFAC sent letter to some 200 members of the Venceremos Brigade and Pastors for Peace, requesting information on their latest trips to Cuba. These letters are the first step in a process that could lead to charges of 1.5 million dollars. - In 2004, 77 companies, bank institutions and NGOs from different corners of the world were penalized for alleged violations of the blockade regulations. 11 of them were foreign enterprises or subsidiaries of US companies based on third countries such as Mexico, Canada, Panama, Italy, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, the Bahamas and British West Indies. Other seven, such as Iberia, Alitalia, Air Jamaica, Daewoo and the Bank of China were penalized alleging that their US subsidiaries violated certain provisions of the blockade against Cuba. Eight of them paid over 50 thousand dollars. The most significant penalties in 2004 include: • Alpha Pharmaceutical, Inc.; ICN Farmacéutica S.A. from C.V.; Grossman Laboratories, S.A., based in Panama and Mexico D.F. – 198 thousand dollars for imports and exports of commodities from and to Cuba between 1998 and 2003. • Chiron Corporation Ltd., in the name of Chiron S.p.A. and Chiron Behring GmbH, based in Emerville, California, USA – 168 thousand 500 dollars for exports of vaccines to Cuba between 1999 and 2002. - During 2005, 8 banking companies and institutions were charged by OFAC for the violation of different regulations of the blockade with 44 thousand 225 dollars. US citizens penalized for the violation of the blockade, specifically the regulations on travels to Cuba, were 487 (171 more than 2004) who paid fines that exceeded the half million dollars. The total amount paid in fines by companies and individuals in 2005 was 573 thousand 969 dollars. - The reduction of OFAC penalties on institutions during that period of 2005, compared to those sanctioned at civil courts in the same period of 2004 is not the result of a flexibilization of the measures of the blockade, but rather they are the consequences of terror and therefore, of the discouragement of the activities of the business sector regarding Cuba. With acts of this nature, what kind of human rights do the US authorities try to promote and protect? Following, a review of other adverse consequences of the application of this unilateral policy of blockade. Further Extraterritorial Harassment In maintaining their unilateral policies of economic coercion, the US authorities adopt the pretext that every nation has the right to choose its trading partners. However, in the case of the blockade imposed on Cuba, it is clear that the application of this policy goes far beyond the simple rejection of a trading partner. The report of the 'Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba' recommended “strict application” of the sanctions identified in Part IV of the Helms-Burton Act, which bans the granting of visas to enter the United States to foreign investors in Cuba. Indeed, it proposed increasing the level of funding and personnel deployed in enforcing these provisions of the Law mentioned. The report calls on the American authorities to perform a detailed evaluation to determine whether the application of Part III of the Helms-Burton Act could hasten the downfall of the Cuban Revolution. In practice, it recommended holding trials in US courts of third-nation entrepreneurs who conducted business with Cuba. So far, international pressures have resulted in this idea being shelved, regularly every six months. The report also calls for action to "neutralize Cuban government front companies by establishing a Cuban Asset Targeting Group, comprised of appropriate law enforcement authorities, to investigate and identify new ways in which hard currency is moved in and out of Cuba". Resulting from this action, to mention just an example, on the second semester of 2004, OFAC declared: Melfi Marine Corporation S.A. and Tour Marketing Ltd “specially assigned nationals”, and SERCUBA “Cuban national”, which led to the immediate application of the blockade regulations to these companies. Before announcing these new anti-Cuba measures, the Bush administration looked into ways of interfering in Cuba's relations with international banking institutions, with a view to blocking funds derived from the tourist industry, dollar-shop sales and other services, which Cuba deposits with foreign banks. Such funds, which are entirely legitimate, are used directly (among other purposes) for the purchase of fuel, food, medical equipment and medicines. Extraterritorial measures which violate all kinds of law have continued to be applied: - In 2005, Canadian Paymentech Canada, following instructions of its headquarters in the United States, Paymentech L.P., decided to unilaterally and surprisingly cancel the processing of payment of VISA credit cards to Canadian ventures Hola Sun Holidays Limited and Canada Inc (Caribe Sol) by virtue of the provisions of the blockade against Cuba. The affected companies, which promote Canadian tourism to Cuba, have had to hire lawyers to recover the funds retained by Paymentech Canada, as well as to repair damages and prejudices cased by this decision, which has caused, among other difficulties, both companies to reroute all their system of collection to thousands of clients that purchase tourist packages they offer. Furthermore, it was necessary to eliminate Visa card as a means of payment, on lack of processing centre. Expenses on lawyers and legal rights have exceeded 100 thousand Canadian dollars (80 thousand 400 US dollars) and lawsuits for damages and the violation of these Canadians laws are just beginning. - On April 6 2005, SEISA received a communication from the Sabadell Atlantic Bank of Spain, informing of the freezing of the bank transfer issued November 10, 2004, by that Bank on behalf of SEISA, to finance commercial operations for one of its suppliers: SUR CONTINENTE, a Chilean enterprise operating in BBVA of Santiago de Chile. The transference amounts to 32 thousand 918 dollars, which was blocked by OFAC. The impact of these measures has been felt, because of their extraterritorial nature, in every sphere of the nation's economic life. The following are among the more recent examples of events which amply demonstrate this: - Impact on meat purchase for AIDS diseased. Through the Project Global Fund to Fight Aids, Malaria and TB, under the sponsorship of UNDP, canned meat was purchased for AIDS patients at 50 thousand 400 dollars from a Brazilian enterprise, which upon being bought by a US firm, it was ordered to cancel all transactions with Cuba. Obviously, the impact of this act was never considered. - Damage to the development of power generation in the country. During the first three months of 2005, and seeking to alleviate the energy problems of the country, a donation through International must have arrived, consisting of three electric plants. The much needed donation could not be made due to difficulties with the authorization of the shipping to Cuba. It was claimed that the plants had US-manufactured parts, and their maintenance was not guaranteed. - Obstacles to acquire technologies. Some technologies, equipments and parts of the Cuban biotech research centres, where means of diagnosis and therapies such as cancer vaccines are developed, came from Sweden’s Pharmacia, purchased by Amersham and later on by US General Electric. The latter gave a week deadline to close Amersham offices in Cuba and cancel all their contracts with the island. - Closure of a Danish plant to manufacture intensive care equipment in Havana. RADIOMETER, a Danish manufacture of gas meters –equipments used in intensive care units to analyze blood gas-, in direct contact with MEDICUBA for over 35 years, was forced to close its office in Havana in 2004 after being purchased by US “DONAHER”, which brought about additional expenses of 200 thousand dollars a year to the Cuba health system accounting, and even worse: affected those who need this service. - Impact on the social programs of soya yogurt to all Cuban children between 7 and 13 years old. In August 2004, equipments to enhance the cooling facilities of the UNION LACTEA were contracted with the Brazilian enterprise MEBRAFE. Those equipments included 14 Denmark cooling compressors SABROE, which being purchased by the US York, prohibited its Brazilian representative to sell those compressors. - Impact on the production of instant drinks since last May. In March 2005, the Canadian branch of the US International Flavours and Fragrances, notified the Canadian Reuven International its decision to stop selling flavours to manufacture instant drinks to the Cuban-Canadian joint venture Reuven International on lack of direct contract, which raised the costs up to 8%. - Restrictions to purchase vaccines to fight poultry diseases. During 2004 and up to date, the US government has maintain the prohibition on the sales by the European lab Intervet Holland of vaccines to prevent avian diseases, alleging that they contained a 10% of more of US manufactured antigens. Cuba has to purchase those vaccines through third countries at higher prices. The aim of affecting the poultry of the island is to cut an important source of proteins for the Cuban people. - Impact on the manufacture plan or import of 3 million pressurized cookers and a similar number of electric rice cookers for each household at subsidized prices, to improve the living standards of the population. In the case of the pressurized cookers, attempts at purchasing the necessary raw material for the manufacturing of one of its parts or the finished product (the handle) from Mexican companies failed because the raw material was American. - Recently, the Food and Pharmacy Institute, the Chemistry and the Biology Faculties of the Havana University could not purchase spectrophotometers or its spare parts for lab practices. The Institute had purchased equipments for 13 thousand dollars the unit to the European firm LKB-Pharmacia. As this firm was purchased by the United States, one of its subsidiaries in Spain refused to supply the spare parts. The height of ridicule was to prohibit the purchase of new lamps from the subsidiary of the afore-mentioned enterprise in Spain, whose cost does not exceed 12 usd the unit, when they learned that the professor who was trying to buy was of Cuban nationality. - Denials to allow Cuba to connect to supercomputers, which makes it difficult to access the sources of information for students and researchers in fields such as computer science. Between February and April 2005, Cuba was denied the connection to the supercomputer of the University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, alleging that contracting such service explicitly excludes those countries under US blockade. The extraterritoriality of the blockade has caused such a negative impact on the country that a number of enterprises from several corners of the world, even without stock investments of, or in the United States, nor significant presence in the market of that country refuse to engage in business with Cuba or interrupt their relations with the Island, to avoid risking whatever future link with the superpower’s capitals: - The First Caribbean International Bank of Bahamas sent a letter to HANANATUR enterprise, to communicate that their banking relations were over as from February 7 2005 because “they did not want to have problems with the Americans”. - Recently, the British bank “Barclays” told the executive from CUBANIQUEL in London that it was mulling over the possibility of not engage in business with that enterprise as its manager was of US origin and the US laws were applied to both companies and individuals. Further effects that impede the Cuban people’s right to food. In its evident efforts to starve the Cuban people to death, between July 2004 and April 2005, the blockade has had an estimated cost of 55 million 863 thousand 957 dollars for the Food Industry, enough to accomplish the technological enhancement of approximately one third of that industry. It is estimated that the blockade prevented the national poultry industry from a productive increase of 30 million dollars only in 2004, limiting the access to an important source of protein for the Cuban people. This number would have been enough to produce 750 million additional eggs. Inaccessibility to cutting-edge technology (US production mostly) in poultry meat, put this item in a halt the whole year, imposing the relocation in other jobs of more than 4 thousand workers, thus impeding the industry to produce 8 thousand 800 tons of poultry meat. Consequences for the health care of Cuban people Cuba's National Health Service has been a prime target of the US blockade ever since the Revolution. In many cases the repercussions have been dramatic, not only because of the human suffering of patients and their relatives, but also because of the frustration felt by medical personnel when prevented from saving a life or relieving pain. (See Cuba's report to the UN Secretary General - Document A/59/302 of the UN General Assembly). In public health, the blockade damage has been calculated in 75.7 million dollars between April 2004 and May 2005. The numbers do not refer to the incalculable damage to the Cuban people on account of shortages of medicines, equipments and disposable material, in all facilities of the national health network. Instability in the supply has affected highly developed technology programs such as transplants, heart surgery, nephrology and genetics. Many components are manufactured in the United States and it is not unusual that its authorities deny license to purchase them or simply delay the necessary paperwork ad infinitum. The following are some of the more recent cases illustrating the effects of this inhuman, genocidal policy on the public health sector: • Care of children in need of liver transplant is one of the most sensitive areas affected by the blockade. An example: Abbot Laboratories’ failure to reply to the request to acquire a dosimeter for the immunosuppressive Tracolimus (FK506) produced by that US laboratory only and which is indispensable to watch the blood levels, whose variations may bring about complications due to side infections and tumours. • The country’s nephrology service, which provide treatment for 1839 patients -30 children included--, has been affected by the impossibility of acquiring haemodialysis technologies and accessories (artificial kidneys machines and their parts) in the US market, which being so near and having such a technological development and competitiveness of prices, would be the logical and natural way. • The Cardiology Program has suffered the impossibility of buying disposable material for heart surgery directly from the manufactures. This has entailed additional expenditures of 66 thousand dollars a year. • Yearly expenses on the purchase of Amniomax –a culture to detect congenital malformations in pregnant women over 38 years old- exceed 138 thousand dollars as it cannot be purchased directly from the US company GIBCO and it is the only internationally known product for this test. • Cuban children cannot benefit either from the new asthma inhalers because the US government denies them that right. The American people also suffer acts such as the prohibition against Cuban institutions to participate in clinical trials of US manufactured medicines. For instance, the US designers of the trials of a drug against sicklemia said the Cuban participation would have put the drug in the market in less than a year earlier, as the trials would have used a national record of patients affected by the disease, as such registry does not exist in the United States. Likewise, the negative impact of the blockade on Cuban biotechnology has indirect negative consequences for the health systems of developing countries. Cuba is the country of the world with more preventive and therapeutic vaccines against the major diseases of the Third World, with a total of 29 ongoing projects. The organization “Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative” (PDVI-EEUU) and the National Vaccine Institute (IVD) from the Republic of Korea chose the Cuban Centre of Genetic and Biotechnology out of more than 100 candidates for its outstanding significance in the perspective creation of an initiative vaccine against dengue, a disease that scourges many developing countries. Funds were granted for the rest of the 12 chosen projects whilst Cuba’s had to be discarded because of the blockade. In 2002, heart diseases killed 240.8 in 100 thousand inhabitants in the United States, ranking as the first cause of death in that country. Brain diseases, accounting for 56.2 deaths in 100 inhabitants, stand as the third cause of death. According to International Harvard Review editors , Ryan Bradley and Edy Rim, an independent study conducted by the Geneva University praised the Cuban PPG (Ateromixol or policosanol) created in 1991, as the best anti-cholesterol drug available.4 A scientific article entitled “Meta-Analysis of Natural Therapies for Hyperlipedemia: Plant Sterols and Stanols Versus Policosanol”, published in Pharmacotherapy in 2005, pointed out that plant sterols and stanols available in the United States are perfectly tolerable and safe but policosanol (PPG) is more effective in the reduction level of LDL (bad cholesterol) and it is also much better for the patient as it only has to take one pil a day, it is much cheaper and with more potential as to cardiovascular benefits. Without the blockade, thousands and maybe hundreds of thousands US citizens would have saved their lives or would not suffer physical after-effects or any other limitations for lack of treatment with PPG, the most efficient and cheapest anti-cholesterol, because of absurd political reasons. Since 1970, lung cancer mortality rate in the United States has been higher than any other disease. The number of victims exceed 560 thousand people; with 1 million, 250 thousand new patients every year; lung cancer alone kills 166 thousand people every year and one in every two US men living today, will suffer some sort of cancer along their lives. Negative Impact on the Education of the Cuban People The repercussions of 45 years of blockade on the Cuban educational, cultural, sporting and academic fields have been substantial. Intensification of this policy during the last decade has had a significant impact on their development and has deprived the Cuban and American peoples of open interchange in these areas. In the educational sector, restrictions and other difficulties in purchasing teaching materials are accompanied by increasing problems caused by the blockade as regards provision for children with special educational needs, calling for more complex equipment which in some cases enables the defect concerned to be healed. The problems relating to the purchase and/or repair of Braille machines for blind and visually-impaired children persist (we are forced to buy at 1,000 USD per unit when in the US market these machines could be bought for 700 USD). Difficulties persist also in obtaining Braillon paper, equipment for special schools for strabic and amblyopic patients, among other inputs, whose non-availability hampers to sustain and develop the principle “Education for all throughout the whole lifetime”. Almost 80% of deep-freezing chambers for food in the 786 boarding high schools are out of order or in very bad conditions. Financial restrictions resulting from the blockade have prevented their full renovation, which would require close to 9 millions, 420 thousand US dollars, at an annual rate of 1 million, 884 thousand US dollars during 5 years. Building, maintaining and renovating schools and educational centers is likewise constrained; and so is the availability of school furniture. Daycare centers are particularly vulnerable to this plight. Impact on Cuba's foreign trade The arbitrary regulations and legislation that implement this pernicious policy towards our country continue to affect our economic development, causing substantial losses. In 2004 alone, Cuba incurred extra expense to the tune of $822.6 million which exceed 2005’s 57.2 million dollars, because of the blockade. These consequences were associated with the implementation of extraterritorial regulations estimated at 380 million dollars, although the impossibility of accessing the potentially natural market of the US continues to bear a tremendous impact. This has last element is estimated to have entailed expenses in the order of 305.2 million dollars, which, has consequently brought about the relocation of both imports and exports in third countries with the subsequent raise in the cost of freight rates and insurances. Furthermore, economic damage in the tune of 23.7 million dollars impacted the limited purchases of food in the United States as result of the restrictions under which these purchases have been carried out: additional expenses due to currency change, delayed unloading of ships due to payment delays and freights, with vessels returning in ballast to the USA. By restricting the Cuban people's access to information, knowledge and dealings in goods and services, Washington is contravening agreements reached by the international community - notably the spirit and letter of the recent Declaration of Principles of the World Summit on the Information Society. According to paragraph 46 of this document “States are strongly urged to take steps with a view to the avoidance of, and refrain from, any unilateral measure not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations that impedes the full achievement of economic and social development by the population of the affected countries, and that hinders the well-being of their population.” Likewise, the Plan of Action adopted in that Summit includes several statements of rejection to unilateral measures. And recognizing that everybody should benefit from the potential of the Information Society, in one of its paragraphs “States are strongly urged to take steps with a view to the avoidance of, and refrain from, any unilateral measure not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations that impedes the full achievement of economic and social development by the population of the affected countries, and that hinders the well-being of their population.” Cuban exports of information material, which could exceptionally go to the United States, need to be conducted through third countries, thus increasing their cost up to 40%. Therefore, some US entities fail cease to acquire Cuban publications, which brought about a loss of incomes to the country. Financially, the blockade has had a decisive impact on the High Risk country label given to Cuba, which constitutes a discrimination against the rights of an international sovereign subject, such as a State. By this concept, economic damages were estimated at 72.2 million dollars, starting by the difficult conditions to access foreign financing. Washington maintains its severe restrictions on sales of food and medicines to Cuba. As from the end of 2001, and by virtue of a piece of legislation passed by the US Congress in the year 2000 as result of the demands by the agro export sector and the US society in general, Cuba started its food purchases in the US, which by 2004 were amounting 474.1 million dollars. Food sales to Cuba have been subjected to complicated rules and procedures that have placed tremendous difficulties in their path. US firms seeking licenses to sell to Cuba are confronted with long-winded bureaucratic processes. At the same time, the rules oblige Cuba: to pay cash for such supplies; not to be able to access financial credits (even private-sector credit is disallowed); to effect the relevant transactions through banks in third countries; and to use other currencies, thereby incurring additional banking costs. Cuban vessels are banned from participating in the related transportation. This caused economic damage in tune of 23.7 million dollars. Restrictions to medical imports are stringent to the point unviability. They include the verification by the US exporter of the use of the product or equipment at its final destination and the banning of the sales to Cuba of cutting edge products and technology. This situation has become even more complex following an announcement by the US Treasury Department in a press release in February, that Cuba must pay for the goods before the vessel is loaded at the American port of departure. This diverges from the standard procedure of payment against shipping documents and transfer of title to the goods to the Cuban purchaser following receipt of the payment in cash by the US exporter. To date, there have been no reported cases of delay in complying with this arrangement. The new rule represents an escalation designed to hinder sales of food, already subject to numerous restrictions. Apparently, it could result in goods destined for the Cuban population being held up in US territory under orders of the American courts without legal foundation issued against the Republic of Cuba. Also, the regulation ignores the wishes of the US Congress, which has authorized sales to Cuba. Despite the reputation of American suppliers for efficiency and product quality, the new measure introduces an element of great uncertainty in purchases from the United States, by threatening the direct supply of food to the Cuban population, including our children, as well as purchases of raw materials used in producing other food products. Cuba's food importing company (ALIMPORT) has confirmed that it will honour its existing contractual commitments and is prepared to continue buying in the American market provided the terms offered are consistent with normal international trading practice. Similarly, it has confirmed its confidence in the farmers, businessmen, carriers, dock workers, congressmen and others who, over these last three years, have shown their willingness to develop mutually beneficial trade relations. On top of all this, Cuba is banned from sales of any kind to American entrepreneurs interested in buying Cuban products, thereby ruling out the possibility of creating sources of income that would support expanded operations. Food purchases have been made possible through enormous efforts by firms in both countries to complete the processes of negotiation, agreement and implementation of such operations, and owe nothing to the attitude of the US authorities. The President himself went on record to clarify that the blockade would continue regardless of the food sales, and indeed that the existing measures of economic coercion and sanction were being intensified. Further Measures in force since 2004 and their impact on the enjoyment of Human Rights The most serious and significant impact of the blockade against Cuba and of the escalation measures are the threat these pose to the exercise by the Cuban people of its right to self-determination. In furthering its plans for subjugating the nation, the Bush administration has no hesitation in flagrantly violating the constitutional right of American citizens to travel at will to a country with which the United States is not at war - at least, not so declared publicly. This right is also enshrined in Article 12 of the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights, which is legally binding on the United States as a party to this international accord. Worse still, Washington is riding roughshod over the right of Cubans living in America to visit relatives in their country of origin. In this connection, in its Resolution XXI (document A/59/503/Add.2) “Respect for the right to universal freedom of travel and the vital importance of family reunification” passed in December 2004, the UN General Assembly called on "all States to guarantee the universally recognized freedom of travel to all foreign nationals legally residing in their territory". In January 2005, it was known that OFAC has applied the regulation on the Cuban travels in such a way that even the US citizens are not allowed to attend meetings in Cuba sponsored and organized by UN agencies, except under a previously granted licence. As from 2000 the number of travels to Cuba by Cuban residents overseas had steadily increased reaching the record number of 167 710 by 2003, with 115 142 travelled directly from the US. The measures adopted by the Bush administration against the Cuban family in the second half of 2004, had a very negative impact and the visit of Cuban residents in the US shrank to 57 145, that is, a 50.9% decrease as compared with 2003. Although there was a slight increase in 2005 and by the end of the year 62 269 US Cuban residents had visited Cuba directly from the US, the Bush Administration’s measures against the Cuba family are still a unfavourable impact as they deny the Cubans their right to meet with their families. As an example of one of the cruellest restrictions, Cubans could visit their families in the island every year; today they can only do that every three years. US citizens have also been deprived of their rights by the anti-Cuban policy of the Bush administration. In 2004, 48 591 Americans visited Cuba whereas in 2005 only 35 003 could travel to the island, which means a 28% decrease. According to the same resolution, all states should "allow the free flow of financial remittances by foreign nationals residing in their territory to their relatives in the country of origin". In this document, the General Assembly also calls on all nations to refrain from enacting, and to repeal, if it already exists, legislation "intended as a coercive measure that discriminates against individuals or groups of legal migrants by adversely affecting family reunification and the right to send financial remittances to relatives in the country of origin". The US Government is currently enforcing each and every measure to deprive Cuba of the absolutely legitimate incomes, thwarting the remittances, using even the inhuman procedure of prohibiting or hindering to the utmost the visits of Cuban residents to their relatives in Cuba. There are a number of examples revealing the Bush administration’s purposes to curb the academic, scientific, cultural and sport exchange between the Cuban and the American people, thus violating their rights. • XXIX International Congress of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering. San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 22-26, 2004. • 110th Annual Meeting of the American Urology Association, Texas, May 21-26 2005 • Annual Meeting of the American Oncology Association, Orlando, Florida, May 13-17 2005. • XX Congress of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), held in Las Vegas, October 2004. All of the Cuban academicians who had been invited to attend this Congress — a total of 64 — were denied their visa, in an unprecedented deed. The trips to Cuba of US students have been cut down to almost nil since the enactment in 2004 of further travel ban measures. US ONG MEDICC was deprived of the license to organize trips to Cuba issued by the Treasure Department. This ONG used to offer annually courses in Cuba for 200 students and professors of medicine, nursing and health care services. The US Government banned US scientists and scholars from attending several scientific events held in Cuba, namely: • International Conference on Maxillofacial Surgery, held in June 2004. 50 US citizens who intended to attend were denied the permit to travel to Cuba. • Children and Youth Pan American Congress of Mental Health, Havana, March 30 April 1º 2004. Some days before the opening, 160 confirmed Americans received an OFAC letter, threatening with severe penalties and denying their participation. This event was sponsored by the Latin America Psychiatry Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. (AACAP) The denial of licenses and/or the lifting of administrative-bureaucratic barriers and obstacles to US Universities exchange programs with the Havana University as well as the banning of travels to Cuba by US teachers and professors, have been systematically applied by several US administrations for over 40 years reaching top irrationality levels under the current authorities. Six semester programs for American students at the Havana University were cancelled. These programs had been coordinated by: the Center for Cross Cultural Studies; Council for International Educational Exchange; the Institute for Study Abroad-Butler University; the School for International Training; Lexia International and Semester at Sea Cruiser. A look at academic year 2004-2005 shows that enrolment for the programs arranged by the afore-mentioned entities shrank in 253 students as compared to previous academic year; that is, the number dropped off 15 folds. In the specific case of the Semester at Sea Cruiser, for academic year 2003-2004, this program worked twice with the University of Havana, involving 1.322 students and teachers. Since the program was cancelled, no professor or student engaged in this program could travel to Cuba during the current academic year. An even worse impact was sustained by Havana University on account of Investigation Projects cancelled or not initiated, despite the interest expressed by the US counterpart. Following, some examples: • A young Cuban scientist from the Biology Faculty won the grant by Harvard University of 20 thousand dollars on account of the approval of a molecular biology project on the development of vaccine adjuvants. The beginning of this project was thus delayed in three years and it is still under litigation. Should it be carried out, it would be very useful for the production of several vaccines, not only for Cuba’s benefit, of course. • The Centre for the Study of International Migrations has had to interrupt 6 investigation projects with CUNY University of New York and with the universities of South Florida and Gainsville, among others, on a number of topics about identity and migration. • The Law College had to cancel its Project of Academic Exchange with the Cuba -USA Legal Forum on US and Cuban legal systems. • Numerous joint research projects on Human Rights, Constitutional and Penal Law with the National Lawyers Gild, Yale University, University of California and the Cuba-USA Legal Forum have likewise been cancelled. As to damage to sports exchange, General License for the participation of US athletes in amateur and semipro competitions held in Cuba have been cancelled, even if sponsored by an International Federation. There has been a significant reduction in the participation of US athletes in competitions in Cuba. In 2004, there were only 128 contestants as compared to 603 in 2003. During the first quarter of 2005 only 34 US athletes had attended sports events in Cuba. In 2004 and on to October 2005, ten delegations of 49 Cuban sportspeople and sports officials were denied visas to travel to USA even when they were to attend important congresses and courses on Olympic Solidarity. In November 2004, difficulties appeared to participate in the Marabana marathon of disabled athletes of the World Team Sports because their travel license had been removed in 2003. Some 90 US runners, whom habitually attend this competition, could not do it this time. The recent restrictions on educational and academic exchange visits between American citizens and institutions and their Cuban counterparts violate a significant number of the Cuban and American peoples' rights as enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The rights thus violated include that of freedom of opinion and expression (Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) under which every individual has the right, with border restrictions, to seek, research and receive information and opinions and “the benefits to be derived from encouraging and developing international contact and cooperation in the scientific and cultural fields” (Article 15.4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). By virtue of the measures introduced on May 6, the Bush administration is acting in open contravention of Article V of the UNESCO Declaration of November 4, 1996, on the principles of international cultural cooperation, which recognizes that “cultural co-operation is a right and a duty for all peoples and all nations, which should share with one another their knowledge and skills.” The new measures of blockade and of real, total economic war not only increase the obstacles that successive US administrations' anti-Cuba policies have placed in the way of the Cuban people's full exercise of its right to development, enshrined in the corresponding declaration of the UN General Assembly (Resolution 41/128 of December 4, 1986) and reaffirmed by consensus in the Declaration and Programme of Action of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights. It also constitutes a criminal violation of Article 1.2, common to both international accords on human rights, which establishes that “in no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.” Although for the moment the anti-Cuba measures enacted by Washington since June 30 do not include further reduction of the already-modest sums that a US-resident Cuban are permitted to send to his or her relatives back home - an example of discrimination, since among all the legal immigrant communities in America, the rule applies only to Cubans - they will involve significant restriction on the classes of relatives entitled to receive these. Article 16 of the Declaration and Article 23 of the Covenant both recognize that “the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.” The 1995 World Summit on Social Development (Copenhagen), in Paragraph 80 of its action program reaffirmed this precept and went further, stating that “in different cultural, political and social systems, various forms of the family exist.” The mouthpieces of the Bush administration, in stepping up their aggression towards the Cuban people, are seeking to deny Cuban families their identity, by rejecting the inclusion in these of kin that have traditionally been an integral and inseparable part of this basic entity of Cuban society. In blatant contravention of various articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, specifically 19, 20 and 21, which underwrite freedom of opinion and association and "the right to take part in the government of his country", Cubans resident in the United States are prohibited from sending money or parcels to relatives in Cuba who are "government officials or members of the Communist Party". Illustrations of the supreme irrationality of this rule include the possible case of an elderly person living in Cuba who is constrained to renounce his or her political rights in order to be able to continue receiving remittances from a son or daughter resident in the United States. The escalation of the economic war on Cuba will further the aims of those anxious to provoke a crisis - real or artificial - that will serve as a pretext for US military intervention. In intensifying its threat of military action against the Cuban people - an option it has not rejected and which on the contrary has been alluded to as a possibility in public statements on various occasions by certain of the Bush administration's spokespersons and representatives of the Cuban-American terrorist mafia in the US Congress - the United States is violating the sacred right of the peoples, both American and Cuban, to peace. By Resolution 39/11 of November 12, 1984, Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace, the UN General Assembly solemnly declared that “the preservation of the rights of peoples to peace and the promotion of its implementation constitute a fundamental obligation of each State.” The same Bush administration that cynically fabricates and imposes, using blackmail and other pressures, a spurious text at the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva with the bogus aim of "promoting the human rights of the Cuban people", has clearly shown its true colours with the new anti-Cuba measures announced on May 6, 2004, as bearing the sole, historic and premeditated responsibility for violating the human rights of the people of Cuba. The enactment of further anti-Cuba tactics as from June 30, 2004 marked a new qualitative stage in Washington's policy of hostility, blockade, aggression and large-scale, flagrant, premeditated and systematic contravention of the Cuban people's human rights, significantly compounding acts tantamount to crimes of genocide under Article II(b) of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This sub-article of the Convention defines as crimes of genocide acts of “causing serious bodily or mental harm” committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. As a fitting expression of the humanist vocation of the Cuban people, while Washington persisted in its campaign to undermine the wellbeing and health of the people of Cuba, on June 21, 2004 Cuba's President Fidel Castro publicly offered the US government free medical treatment for 3,000 of America's poor - the same number as the deaths in the attacks on the twin-towers in New York in September 2001 - over five years. Furthermore, on August 30 2005, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a communiqué whereby our Government indicated its readiness to send medical staff and 3 campaign hospitals to the areas struck by Katrina hurricane in US territory. Last January, the willingness to treat 150 000 US patients in Cuban hospitals was also notified. Cuba is confident that an overwhelming majority of governments world-wide will - as do decent and honest peoples and individuals the world over - continue to recognize the vital importance of opposing the maintenance of an illegal policy of unilateral hostility and aggression which undermines the very foundations of multilateralism. The Cuban people also expect most of the world's governments to act consistently in opposing the spurious manoeuvres engineered by the US administration year after year at the Commission on Human Rights. There is little sense in opposing the blockade at the UN General Assembly and then supporting in Geneva the fabrications used by Washington as a pretext for maintaining and intensifying its policy of blockade and aggressions against Cuba.
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