Jamaica: House approves resolution calling lifting of US sanctions against Cuba

The Caribbean nation Jamaica's House of Representatives has approved a resolution calling for the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on the Republic of Cuba by the United States.

Attorney General, Marlene Malahoo Forte, who moved the resolution during Tuesday’s sitting of the House, said the ban, which has been in place for almost six decades, “is the most unfair, severe, and extended system of unilateral sanctions ever applied against any country”.

“The Government of the United States must totally eliminate the blockade on Cuba unilaterally and unconditionally,” she asserted.

Malahoo Forte contended that the US embargo is the main obstacle to Cuba’s economic and social development, noting that the resulting accumulated fallout is estimated at over US$934 billion.

She said the Cuban Government believes the embargo constitutes “a massive, blatant and systematic violation of the human rights of all the Cuban people”.

“They strongly believe that the blockade violates the United Nations Charter, violates international law and constitutes an obstacle for international cooperation,” she said.

The House, Malahoo Forte said, is calling on the United States to comply with the 26 resolutions adopted by the international community within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, and put an unconditional end to its policy of blockade against Cuba.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader, Dr. Peter Phillips, concurred that the embargo should be lifted.

“The blockade is an expression of a deepening threat to global international relations and to the stability of the Caribbean region,” he argued.

Dr. Phillips suggested that Jamaica, which chairs CARICOM, should take the lead by, not just passing the resolution in the House “but to raise our voices more directly and emphatically in the international system, beginning in CARICOM, to speak out against this blockade”.

The US embargo was first imposed against Cuba in 1962. While there has been a relaxation of some stipulations regarding telecommunications, trade, remittances, travel, and the reopening of embassies, coupled with the visit of former US President, Barack Obama to Cuba, there has been a tightening of sanctions since current President, Donald Trump, took office in 2016.