Human Rights News: 9/2

In a report released today, Amnesty International urges President Obama to take the first step towards lifting the embargo against Cuba by not renewing the Trading with the Enemy Act on September 14.

According to Irene Khan, Amnesty International's Secretary General, not renewing the sanctions included in this expiring Act is "the perfect opportunity for President Obama to distance himself from the failed policies of the past and to send a strong message to the US Congress on the need to end the embargo". She maintains that the nearly half-century old embargo is "immoral and should be lifted" because it is "preventing millions of Cubans from benefiting from vital medicines and medical equipment essential for their health".

The embargo, which began in 1960 and was further tightened in 1962 in response to a heightened Cold War cooperation between Cuba and the USSR, restricts Cuba's ability to import "medicines, medical equipment or technologies from the USA or from any US company abroad," along with limiting other imports and travel. Even products produced outside of the US that have US patents or contain more than 20 percent US-manufactured parts cannot be exported. Because of this, the United Nations reports that "Cuba’s inability to import nutritional products for consumption at schools, hospitals and day care centres is contributing to a high prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia". UNICEF estimated in 2007 that 37.5 percent of Cuban children under three are affected. Furthering the problem, US syringe suppliers canceled UNICEF's 2007 order for three million disposable syringes when they discovered their products' Cuban destination. These actions have limited efforts to promote immunizations and fight HIV/AIDS on the island.

Ironically, President Obama has said that he will not end the trade band until Cuba, currently led by Fidel Castro's brother Raul, "frees political prisoners and improves human rights". However, this may be too high a price for the Cuban people to pay. Irene Khan states that "Although responsibility for providing adequate health care lies primarily with the Cuban authorities, governments imposing sanctions such as embargoes need to pay special attention to the impact they can have on the targeted country’s population."

Some progress has been made on lifting the embargo against Cuba. In 2000, Congress passed The Trade Sanction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, which allows the island nation to purchase US food, using only cash without the establishment of credit. Since 2001, Cuba has spent more than $4 billion on direct food transactions. Additionally, President Obama has stated a desire for softened US-Cuban relations, and "lifted the ban on Cuban-Americans visiting the island and sending money back to relatives who still live there" earlier this year. Amnesty International wishes to pressure both the President and Congress into continuing this trend.

For more on this story, check out Amnesty International, BBC, and CNN.

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