Brussels, Nov 19 (Agencies) An international court, which debated at this headquarters of the European Union on the US blockade of Cuba, ruled on Friday that this policy violates International Law and universal norms for peaceful coexistence.
The court stressed that the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by Washington violates the UN Charter, which enshrines the sovereignty of the countries, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and agreements of the World Trade Organization, among other norms.
After hearing the arguments of the Prosecutor’s Office and the statements of witnesses about the human and economic damage of the blockade, the court recalled that the United States has applied this unilateral system of coercive measures for more than 60 years, affecting the living conditions of an entire people, its development and the performance of the various sectors of society.
Likewise, the magistrates’ decision reflects the extraterritorial scope of the blockade, a component contrary to International Law, the unjustifiable nature of the siege and its intensification with the inclusion of the island on the list of countries that are alleged sponsors of terrorism.
The opinion read by the judges, headed by German jurist Norman Peach, also pointed out the blockade as violating the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966.
In another of its points, the sentence uses the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the possibility that Washington’s hostility and its determination to cause systematic collective damage fits into this crime.
The international court urged the United States to end the blockade against Cuba and compensate affected companies and citizens.
After the ruling, the president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, Fernando González, thanked the MEPs, the organizers and the participants in the forum.
In a joint press conference, González and MEP Sandra Pereira considered that although the judges’ decision is not legally binding, it represents a valuable instrument to continue the fight for the end of the siege.
In this regard, they highlighted the importance of the ruling being known to the world, and recognized the depth of the testimonies provided during the process by Cuban, European and American witnesses about the impact of an illegal and extraterritorial policy.
