Author: Laura Mercedes Giráldez | internet@granma.cu
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stated in his opening address to the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council that, “Cuba is in the midst of a human rights emergency, suffocated by US sanctions.”
In his remarks, aimed at highlighting human rights violations worldwide, the official asserted, regarding the situation on the island as a result of the intensification of the economic, commercial, financial, and energy blockade imposed by the United States government: “The alarm is ringing red: we need an urgent de-escalation.”
This is not the first time the High Commissioner has referred to the constant aggression against Cuba. On June 8, through his social media accounts, he urged the lifting of the imperialist blockade and condemned the imposition of new measures that seek to strangle the national economy, and whose direct effect falls on the daily lives of the people, the main victims of the complex situation the country is experiencing.
On that occasion, he stated: “The expansion of US sanctions against Cuba is harming ordinary people and endangering lives. It is unacceptable that children are dying for lack of essential medical supplies. These sanctions must be lifted immediately.”
The current session of the Human Rights Council, which began on June 15 and will continue until July 7, will serve to acknowledge, as Volker Türk himself stated, that humanity is currently facing “very serious human rights challenges. An unprecedented and brazen attack on international law is causing appalling human suffering. We must denounce it, always and everywhere, and work to contain and eradicate it.”
IMAGE CREDIT: The Cuban people, especially the most vulnerable sectors of society, are the main victims of the tightening of the blockade. Photo: Dunia Álvarez Palacios
[ SOURCE: GRANMA ]
