At International Human Rights Day event, activists expose U.S. hypocrisy

At left: The Black Workers and Wellness Center Chorus performing. At right: The poem “If I must die,” by Refaat Alareer, part of the Doctors Against Genocide poster presentation. | Photos by Cindy Farquhar / People's World

WASHINGTON—The United Nations General Assembly in 1950 established Dec. 10 as Human Rights Day. On that date two years earlier, in 1948, the General Assembly had adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

1948 was also the year when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were removed from their homes and land at the hands of Zionist settlers. The process is referred to as the Nakba, or “Catastrophe,” by Palestinians.

On International Human Rights Day 2024, activist organizations, including the Americas Without Sanctions  Campaign and the Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition, held a forum entitled: “U.S. Sanctions Violate Human Rights in Palestine, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.” It took place at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.

A sizable crowd attended the forum in-person along with hundreds of virtual attendees. They heard from members of the diplomatic corps of the three countries named in the forum title.

The keynote speaker was Eyad Kishawi, an activist associated with the International People’s Tribunal. Recounting recent tribunals, Kishawi reported on U.S. imperialism’s actions in the Global South, which include the destruction the economies of formerly colonized states through economic sanctions.

Sanctions, he pointed out, violate the rules of the U.N. Charter which uphold the principle of non-intervention. They represent, Kishawi argued, a new form of genocide, but the Global South will eventually prevail, he assured the crowd.

Diplomats participating in the forum provided various perspectives.

Alejandro García del Toro, deputy chief of mission at the Cuban Embassy, reviewed Cuba’s solidarity efforts over the course of six decades in Africa and elsewhere in the world. He denounced the interference of U.S. diplomats who obstruct and damage trade relations between Cuba and other nations in order to cripple the Cuban economy. He alluded to the association of U.S. economic sanctions and U.S. military power, unmatched in the entire world.

Carlos Ron, Venezuela’s vice-minister of foreign affairs for North America, underscored his country’s solidarity with Cuba and Nicaragua. Taking exception to the U.S. government’s narrow view of human rights, he highlighted Venezuela’s guarantees of healthcare, education, and housing for all Venezuelans. The Bolivarian Revolution, he recalled, grew out of the struggle for human rights in 1989 as Venezuelans took to the streets demanding food.

Ron explained that Venezuelans have moved from securing the social rights of food, medicine, and housing to the pursuit of collective rights. These include the right to live in peace and rights to development and solidarity. Ron noted that Venezuela was one of only 18 nations to achieve the U.N.’s sustainable development goals of eradicating hunger and illiteracy.

Nicaraguan Ambassador Lautaro Sandino lauded his country’s accomplishments, among them he claimed are a rising GDP and the extension of human rights. He focused particularly on efforts to protect the autonomy of inhabitants of Nicaragua’s Caribbean coastal regions as they endeavor to preserve their Afro-Caribbean culture. He invited all those attending the forum, in person or virtually, to visit Nicaragua and learn for themselves.

Austin Cole, co-convenor of the Black Alliance for Peace campaign Zone of Peace, and Dr. Samira Addrey, member of Friends of Latin America and graduate of the Latin America School of Medicine, also spoke. An exhibit portraying the land, sea, and air blockade against Gaza from 2007 to the present, exposing Israeli violations of medical neutrality was displayed by Doctors Against Genocide.

WPFW radio station livestreamed the event, and the Black Workers and Wellness Center Chorus ended the evening with the song “No basta rezar” –  “Prayers are not enough.”

In conjunction with Human Rights week, on Dec. 11, activists organized by the Americas Without Sanctions Campaign delivered petitions to Senators and Congresspersons on Capitol Hill, calling upon the U.S. government to end its economic sanctions specifically against Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Plans are in progress to follow up with multiple legislators.

With utmost cynicism, also on Dec. 11, the House of Representatives held a hearing entitled, “The Communist Cuban Regime’s Disregard for Human Rights.” Members of the Americas Without Sanctions Campaign attended the hearing and afterwards held a press conference exposing the misinformation in the testimony.

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CONTRIBUTOR

Cindy Farquhar

Cindy Farquhar is a progressive community activist in Baltimore.