{"id":1615,"date":"2020-04-30T22:03:15","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T22:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/?p=1615"},"modified":"2020-05-05T23:08:37","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T23:08:37","slug":"lift-cuba-embargo-or-risk-many-lives-lost-to-covid-19-un-rights-experts-warn-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/lift-cuba-embargo-or-risk-many-lives-lost-to-covid-19-un-rights-experts-warn-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Lift Cuba embargo or risk many lives lost to COVID-19, UN rights experts warn US"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

30 April 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States must urgently lift its blockade on Cuba to save lives amid the expanding COVID-19 crisis, UN human rights experts stressed on Thursday, emphasizing that the more than six-decades-old sanctions are impeding the supply of medicine, medical equipment, food and other goods essential to surviving the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The joint statement <\/a>by UN special rapporteurs, independent experts and working groups, calls on the US administration to withdraw measures aimed at establishing trade barriers, and ban tariffs, quotas, non-tariff measures, noting that they are obstructing humanitarian responses to help Cuba combat COVID-19<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They said the US has ignored repeated calls to waive sanctions that undermine the capacity of Cuba and other countries to respond effectively to the crisis and save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the pandemic emergency, the lack of will of the US Government to suspend sanctions may lead to a higher risk of such suffering in Cuba and other countries targeted by its sanctions\u201d, the experts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018No one should be denied\u2019 care<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

COVID-19 is not only deadly, it also inflicts enormous physical and psychological suffering, especially in countries where medical personnel are unable to perform their professional duties due to a lack of adequate equipment and available medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A chorus of voices across the UN system have emphasized, since the onset of the pandemic, that bringing the virus under control will only be achieved through multilateralism, cooperation and solidarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their statement, the UN experts voiced alarm that the US embargo on Cuba \u2013 along with sanctions imposed on other countries \u2013 seriously undermines efforts to build that much-needed solidarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the face of such global challenge, no one should be denied vital medical care,\u201d they stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slow imports, out-of-reach technology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The economic and financial embargo, first imposed by Washington in 1958, adds a cumbersome and expensive licensing process to the export and re-export of goods to Cuba. The issuance of licenses or clearance for exemptions can take several months, according to the experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of the comprehensive embargo has imposed additional financial burden, increased cargo travel time due to an inability to procure supplies, reagents, medical equipment and medicines necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19,\u201d the experts said. It also makes access to technology difficult, delaying the development of e-health and telemedicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a matter of utmost importance and great urgency,\u201d they said. \u201cThe COVID-19 virus does not choose its victims. It crosses borders easily and targets people regardless of nationality, race, religion, political opinion or social status.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UN General Assembly has repeatedly expressed its concerns about the effects of the US blockade \u2013 including its humanitarian and health impacts \u2013 demanding its urgent repeal in a series of 28 consecutive resolutions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Special Rapporteurs are appointed by the\u00a0 UN Human Rights Council<\/a>, which is based in Geneva, to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. Their positions are honorary, and they are not paid for their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: UN News<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

30 April 2020 The United States must urgently lift its blockade on Cuba to save lives amid the expanding COVID-19 crisis, UN human rights experts […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101012,"featured_media":1616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[37,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions","category-us-aggression"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5173,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/covid-19-and-the-blockade-the-effect-on-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":1615,"position":0},"title":"Covid-19 and the blockade: the effect on Cuba","author":"Editorial Team","date":"September 11, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Cuban healthcare is among the best in the world, but today its vaccination campaign is in a race against time against the highly contagious delta variant \u2014 and the blockade, writes MARC VANDEPITTE A man waits in an almost empty pharmacy amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Old Havana, July 2021\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Featured"","block_context":{"text":"Featured","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/news\/featured\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/empty_cuban_chemist.jpeg?fit=1180%2C585&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/empty_cuban_chemist.jpeg?fit=1180%2C585&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/empty_cuban_chemist.jpeg?fit=1180%2C585&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/empty_cuban_chemist.jpeg?fit=1180%2C585&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/empty_cuban_chemist.jpeg?fit=1180%2C585&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1501,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/covid-19-emergency-swiss-aid-blocked-for-cuba\/","url_meta":{"origin":1615,"position":1},"title":"COVID-19 Emergency Swiss aid BLOCKED for Cuba","author":"Editorial Team","date":"April 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Swiss organizations denounce the blockade of transfers intended to alleviate the emergency situation in Cuba due to the coronavirus, and the refusal to sell ventilators to the island by companies based in Switzerland. \"The blockade of the United States is imposing an enormous weight on the country's health system and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Covid-19"","block_context":{"text":"Covid-19","link":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/category\/cuba\/covid-19\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuba-Switzerland_US_Embargo.jpg?fit=612%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuba-Switzerland_US_Embargo.jpg?fit=612%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cuba-Switzerland_US_Embargo.jpg?fit=612%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5507,"url":"https:\/\/www.cubasupport.ie\/latest\/biden-should-lift-us-restrictions-on-medical-aid-so-cuba-can-share-its-covid-vaccine\/","url_meta":{"origin":1615,"position":2},"title":"Biden Should Lift US Restrictions on Medical Aid so Cuba Can Share its COVID Vaccine","author":"Editorial Team","date":"November 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"After successfully vaccinating 90% of its population with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Cuba has lifted its quarantine and is reopening the country to tourism. 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