United Nations: Cuba Demands End of US Blockade

For the 19th consecutive year, the UN General Assembly will vote on Tuesday on the resolution demanding that the United States to lift its blockade of Cuba, which has caused the island more then $750 billion in losses, reported Prensa Latina.

The demand is item No. 41 on the General Assembly's agenda, under the heading "The Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial and Financial Blockade Imposed by the United States of America Against Cuba."

In October 2009, 187 of 192 UN member countries voted for the end of the hostile US policy with only three nations voting against that resolution (the United States, Israel and Palau), and two abstentions (Marshall Islands and Micronesia).

The annual report on the blockade presented by Cuba in the General Assembly states that the siege remains intact, with its complex web of laws and legal regulations.

This is also the longest and most unyielding blockade applied by the United States in history against any country, despite being in violation of international law and the UN Charter's purposes and principles.

It is also, in essence and objectives, an act of unilateral aggression and permanent threat against the stability of a country, "a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of a people."

Since 1991, the UN General Assembly has condemned the US blockade of Cuba. Last year, even though many delegates expressed a newfound optimism that United States-Cuba relations could improve with the change of Administration in Washington, the United Nations General Assembly once again adopted a stern resolution calling on the United States to end a trade embargo, which had created human suffering and wrecked havoc with the economy of the island nation.

The resolution against the blockade calls upon all States to refrain from promulgating and applying laws and measures such as that promulgated in the 1996 “Helms-Burton Act” which carried extraterritorial effects that impacted the sovereignty of other States.

The blockade is an absurd, illegal and morally unsustainable policy that generates shortages and sufferings for people, restricts and slows the development of the country, and seriously damages Cuba's economy, the document says.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said a month ago at the UN General Assembly that US President Barack Obama has shown himself to be unwilling to rectify even the most irrational and universally rejected aspects from his anti-Cuba policy.

There has not been any change in the policy of blockade and subversion against Cuba in the last two years, even though Obama has sufficient prerogatives to produce real change, the Cuban Foreign minister noted. He has called the blockade an “uncultured act of arrogance” that has hampered the development of Cuba’s economy and was also applied to other countries that wanted to carry out business with the Caribbean nation.

The October 26 vote takes place about a month after the Assembly's annual general debate, where heads of state and government as well as foreign ministers from dozens of countries denounced the US siege against the Caribbean island.


http://www.juventudrebelde.co.cu

WHAT CUBA GIVES THE WORLD

As part of the Edinburgh World Justice festival (EWJF), East Coast SCSC helped to put on an afternoon dedicated to the cuban health system and salsa and rum!! With the catchy title of "What Cuba Gives the World"

The first half of the event was a welcome by Councillor Gordon Munro followed by a talk by Brian Pollitt from Scottish Medical aid for Cuba and the first of two clipsfrom the documentary "Salud"

With over 80 people attending over the course of the day , it was a great success and finished off with an hour of salsa with a couple of salsa teachers putting us through our paces. although this was a free event, a bucket collection was split between Scottish Medical aid for cuba and east coast SCSC.

special thanks must go to the EWJF and to Joan Cutting for organising the event.






(L-R Gordon Munro, Brian Pollitt and Joan Cutting)

The Miami 5 vigil

Its been a busy week for the East Coast SCSC. On Tuesday we had a vigil for the Miami 5 in princes Street in Edinburgh. It was timed to coincide with similar events in Glasgow and London. Surprisingly, for a bitterly cold night, loads of people stopped to sign the petition to demand visas for the wives of the miami 5 who have been denied visits which amnesty international says is against the human rights of prisoners.

Banks action on Cuban sanctions hits UK companies

By Roland Gribben for the Telegraph
21 October 2010

Lloyds TSB has blocked a bank transfer from Cuba to a UK business that supplies agricultural consultancy services despite the free flow of trade between the Caribbean country and the EU

A small business consultancy has tabled complaints to the Business Secretary and EU authorities accusing Lloyds TSB of breaking the law by refusing to process a cash payment from a Cuban business for £7,156.

Barrie Bain, chairman of Tunbridge Wells-based Fertecon, said yesterday: "I find it astounding that a bank controlled by the state is doing something that is against the law. It is damaging our business and presumably the export efforts of thousands of other small UK companies."

Lloyds has told him the bank has reviewed its approach to dealing with countries subject to government and international sanctions "in order to best protect its customers, its businesses, its people and its reputation."

Keiron Walsh, a senior manager in the bank's commercial department, told Mr Bain: "Unfortunately we are unable to offer you advice on alternative arrangements for your payments."

The block on the bank transfer has thrown into fresh focus changes quietly introduced by banks to avoid falling foul of US regulations over the breach of its trade sanctions against Cuba.

Neither the UK nor the EU has similar blocks on trade with Cuba but the importance of the US market has seen UK banks fall into line.

Lloyds has already felt the full weight of the US regulatory authorities, being forced to pay $350m in January last year after being accused of helping clients in Iran, Libya and Sudan to avoid US sanctions. The sanctions power exercised by the US was also on display when Barclays was fined in August for allegedly breaking US sanctions through business dealings with people linked to Cuba, Iran, Libya, Myanmar and Sudan. The British bank agreed to pay a $298m fine covering business transactions worth $500m.

The upshot is that Barclays has told customers it no longer handles any business with links with Iran, North Korea, Myanmar or the sanctioned areas of Sudan. "Our sanctions policy also includes a prohibition on transactions involving anyone or any entity on the US, UN [United Nations], UK or EU sanctions list," the bank said.

Lloyds defended its action over the Cuban payment. "Lloyds takes its responsibility with regard to the application of sanctions very seriously and recently reviewed our approach to dealing with countries and entities that are subject to government and international sanctions across the globe in order to best protect our customers, our businesses, our people and our reputation."

Mr Bain, who specialises in providing advice on agricultural markets, particularly fertilisers, and has 95pc of his business overseas has undergone a crash course in trade restrictions since the cheque was blocked a week ago and said his research showed that under the Protection of Trade Interests Act and the EU Blocking Statute "it is illegal to block payments from Cuba".

He has been told by Vince Cable's Business Department that no order has been made under the terms of the Trade Interests Act making it an offence to comply with another country's extra territorial legislation – regulations designed to counter the US restrictions under the terms of the Helms-Burton act in 1996.

But Mr Bain has discovered there is scope for the department to consider an investigation if a complaint is tabled about a bank's refusal to handle a transaction with Cuba.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Cuba to Consolidate Children's Protection

The Cuban program "Por un Mundo al Derecho" is celebrating its tenth anniversary of promoting actions for providing more protection for childhood, in line with the UN Convention on Children's Rights.

The project was founded in 2000, via an agreement with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and with financial support from Finland.

Its goal is to raise awareness among children, teenagers and adults regarding laws protecting minors under the age of 18.

The Justice Ministry reported that the program aims to strengthen respect for children's rights and pave the way for the promotion of a culture on the issue.

In that sense, the ministry and other government agencies are preparing a series of social and cultural activities to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the project.

"Por un Mundo al Derecho" is also targeted to achieve more children's leadership, increase participation of minors within society, and create a strategy of training and promotion.

The Convention on Children Rights is a UN treaty and is compulsory.

That international rule covers civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, reflecting the different situations of children and youth worldwide.

The convention has 54 articles that recognize that all children under 18 years old have the right to full physical, mental and social development and to express their opinion freely.

Cuba signed the Convention on Children's Rights on January 26, 1990 and ratified it on August 21, 1991 and it came into effect in September of that year.
by PL

http://naturalchildhood.blogspot.com

Cuba Premieres Argentinean Documentary on Che

Havana, Oct 7 (Prensa Latina) The documentary Che, A new Man, by Argentinean filmmaker Tristan Bauer will be premiered Thursday at 330 Cuban films and video halls, presenting a human, live portrait, with new profiles.

In about one and a half hour, the film deals with the life of the guerrilla, his political thinking, his family relations, an his love for literature and arts, based on a comprehensive historic research the director made for 12 years.

"I knew it was a challenge, but I had to try to transmit the concept of a man who studies, immersed in a deep theoretic reflection on a par with action," Bauer told press.

The documentary was co-produced by the Cuban Film Institute (ICAIC), the Center on Che Guevara's Studies, Argentina' National Film and Audiovisual Institute, the National University of San Martin, the Spanish Television, and Golem Distribution Label.

It is screened on the occasion of the 43rd death anniversary of Ernesto Guevara in Bolivia.

It is an audiovisual material of incalculable value, a portrait enriched with substantial contributions by the Center bearing his name, and unexposed images granted by ICAIC.



http://www.plenglish.com/