What are the UN and International Law any good for?
Elio Delgado Legon
HAVANA TIMES – I’ve asked myself this question many a time and I can’t seem to find the answer. The UN General Assembly, which is made up of 193 Member States, can’t form binding agreements, or force its members to comply with them.
One of the most notorious examples of this is the fact that the Assembly has almost unanimously approved the resolution presented by Cuba: “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”; yet, the US continues to tighten down on its application even further, to the point of turning it into a real war which not only affects Cuba, but every country that has trade relations with Cuba, which is not only a violation of the UN Charter, but also of International Law.
Hasn’t the UN already established what happens to countries that systematically violate the Charter? Why isn’t this being applied to the US?
According to International law, no country can make laws to apply their own laws in another country; however, the US has lifted the waiver on Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, which flagrantly violates International law and they got away with it. Who’s responsible for ensuring these international laws are respected?
There is not a single international law which stipulates that a country can become the supreme judge of the world and sanction every other country, without these countries having a body they can appeal to; or fining banks and companies in other countries because they don’t comply with the Empire’s law. These are legal outrages that nobody understands, and nobody has approved, but there’s no way of stopping them. For how long?
Believing it is the supreme judge of the world, the US dedicates itself to writing up lists of countries which (in its own opinion) violate human rights, and countries who support terrorism, so they have an excuse to sanction them. However, they aren’t taking a good look in the mirror when doing this and putting themselves down on both lists, as it is the greatest offender of human right violations, in its own country and in others where it applies criminal sanctions, such as Cuba, which has suffered a blockade for almost 60 years, which is a huge violation of the human rights of a sovereign people.
When it comes to countries who support terrorism, the US has no moral grounding to accuse anyone because they have systematically used terrorism in other countries to bring about changes of government just because they didn’t get on with them; they have used every possible form of terrorism against Cuba and have harbored and protected terrorists such as Posada Carriles and all of his accomplices.
In Syria, they intervened without this country asking for help or even approving it, but not to fight against terrorism, to support it instead, like they have and still shamefully do.
Going back to human rights, the US withdrew itself from the UN Human Rights Council so it didn’t have to account for its actions like other countries do. A country that has morals doesn’t do this.
Withdrawing itself from all the treaties signed by former administrations, the US government’s attitude today stirs great mistrust with this country, because while it has signed important conventions, if it doesn’t want to abide by them it just pulls out and that’s that. It withdrew itself from the nuclear missile accord (the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) it signed with Russia, and then immediately began to carry out exercises that were banned in this treaty; it also pulled out of the Paris Agreement on climate change so it didn’t have to take action to help reduce environmental pollution and climate change, when it is the second most polluting country in the world, only beaten by China, which has adopted fitting measures.
Another agreement the US irresponsibly pulled out of was the agreement with Iran, taking months of sitting at the negotiation table to draw up, and which the EU still abides by because it values its importance.
I have mentioned only some of the US’ violations of International law and the UN Charter, without either body taking action. So, I wonder: What are they really good for?
What Good is The U.N. The World Health Organization & there Battle against the Spread of S. T. D.s OR as The World Now understands in the Case of Cuba, Socialist. Transmitted. Doctrine,s. Known as Communism, A Man Created Health epidemic in Cuba that has & will take more innocent lives then any other illness in the History of Cuba. The simple truth is that Cuba has been Quarantine & Only the ones that are Not Termagant ill have been given there Pass To the Lands of Promise. I Think we should all Thank The Canadians again for there Creation of The U.N. back in 1957.
Balancing the historical books is no easy task. The British say Man’s History is bloody. I accept that assessment as the truth in the development of human civilization. There has not been any human grouping of consequence without the experience of bloodshed. As for the future ‘ quien sabe.’
Elio Just off The Top of my Head as why U”S”A” is the Baby Sitter Over Cuba, Well They Drew The Short Straw from the U.N. & The Free World Has spoken, Cuba is the U”S”A” Problem. Watch Over Them Close. Seeing the Bill Board in Havana with the U”S”A” Rope around Cuba, This is your Life Line OR is it the Rope That Hangs Cubans. I always wish it to Be the Life Line To The People of Cuba.
There would be no person in their right mind supporting the American embargo against Cuba. However to attack the UN and member states for not ignoring the embargo is grossly unfair – there are valid reasons why! The UN charter and its member states are bound by the judicial principal of “EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER THE LAW” Cuba doesnt conform to this principal – its laws discriminate against non cubans!! Foreigners cannot buy or own a microwave, bycicle, fridge, scooter, auto OR appartment!!! Cuba law protects the citizens to the extreme – fraud and grand theft by cubans on foreigner is not prosecuted and they just walk away free. The outside world knows this, therefore no investments are coming into Cuba without changes of Cuba law to guarantee protection of foreign investors. Cuba had one opportunity to counter the embargo with the new constitution by including foreign property rights – Cuba missed this valuable chance. However Cuba has a second chance to get away from under the emabargo!!! – Right now there is a Tribunal case in the supreme court of Cuba case #277/2017- If the Supreme court will judge in favour of the applicant then property right could easily be incorporated by addendum to the Cuban constitution based on this judgement. Cuba would otherwise be running the risk for and out of control Donald Trump using the Cuban Discriminatory Laws as reason to take action to have Cuba removed from the UN. This will be a hit for his voting base!!
Say what you want about how bad the United States is and what a poison it is to the world. The capitalist Democratic Republic of the U.S. has flourished for 243 years. On the other hand Cuba has been treading water for 60 years only surviving from the life lines tossed to them by other socialist sympathetic countries until their money runs out. The Soviet Union and Venezuela recently. Cuba does business with every country in the world except the U.S. but it’s the crippling embargo. With the advent of the television and the internet even your children can see that Communism does not work, even China saw the light. Elio, you would think that people all over world would be building rafts and risking shark attacks to float to the workers paradise of the purest Communist state in the world, the worlds standard for democracy where every public official is elected unanimously.
The UN is good for many things.
The World Health Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
International Fund for Agricultural Development
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
ETC
Communist Cuba just needs to allow open and free elections.
It’s that time of the year again folks !!
The time of year whereby the whole world gets to see the USA’s complete disdain for global democracy.
The rest of the year the finger gets pointed at China or Syria or Saudi Arabia etc…, but October is when the USA hogs the dictatorial and anti-democratic limelight.
This is the month that the USA gets to flex its muscles and prove it can be as anti-democratic as the rest of ‘em. (No doubt backed up by its little Middle East Outpost – Israel).
If the USA refuse to trade normally with Cuba, fine.
But the most lowlife, gutter-dwelling aspect of their petty little embargo is the way they try and blackmail other countries into going along with their twisted chicanery.
And all because FLA Electoral College Votes are so crucial in deciding who gets to boss the most powerful Capitalist country in the world.
But to what extent are Capitalism and Democracy actually compatible ?
Or to what extent does this sad annual episode show that Capitalism and Democracy are actually mutually exclusive ??