Affiliated to by UNISON nationally, regionally and by LeedsMet UNISON

UNISON notes that significant political developments are taking place in Latin America including for example the victory of President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia . Also noted is that the fate of these developments is directly linked to the role Cuba has played in charting an alternative course to that which has dominated the continent in recent decades.

Solidarity and assistance that Cuba has provided to Venezuela in particular through the provision of 20,000 doctors and medical assistants, the program of eye operations and work on their literacy program should also be noted.

Trading relations have been established between Cuba and Venezuela and the provision of oil supplies are making a major contribution to the growth and expansion of the Cuban economy.

The growing cooperation between Cuba and Venezuela represents not only a gain for the peoples of those two countries but is linked to a perspective of economic development for the continent which has the potential to break with the neo-liberal agenda imposed on the Latin America by the United States.

The Cuba Solidarity Campaign ( supported by UNISON ) is the British campaign for the defence of Cuba and its peoples' right to self-determination and national sovereignty.

• We believe that the people of Cuba, like any other nation, must be free to decide their own internal affairs without outside interference.
• We defend, therefore, Cuba's right to national sovereignty, independence and self-determination.
• We call for an end to the US trade blockade against Cuba and for the British Government to continue to oppose it.
• We call for the normalisation of all diplomatic, economic, cultural and scientific relations with Cuba by the US Government.

For 38 years Cuba , a small nation of 11 million people, has been subjected to sustained interference in its internal affairs by the United States .

It has suffered military aggression and economic hostility in the form of a trade blockade and the continued presence of a US Navy and Marine base at Guantánamo on Cuban territory.

The US Government in:

• 1990 set up and funded a TV station, TV Martí, to beam US propaganda at Cuba in contravention of all international broadcasting agreements,
• 1992 introduced the Torricelli Law which attacks Cuba' trade with third parties,
• 1996 introduced the Helms-Burton Law aimed at sanctions against countries, foreign ( i.e. none US ) companies and individuals who invest in Cuba.

The US 's aim in stepping up the blockade is to isolate Cuba , strangle it economically and create the conditions for external intervention.

US hostility to Cuba has increased despite SIX specific UN General Assembly resolutions, passed with overwhelming majorities and almost no opposition, demanding the total, immediate and unconditional lifting of the US blockade. The Helms-Burton Law has been condemned by almost every country in the world as an illegal and unacceptable extension of US law outside its territory.

Affiliated to by UNISON nationally and regionally

A war has been raging in Columbia for over 50 years between the Columbian government and leftwing rebel groups. Every year thousands of civilians are killed – the vast majority of them by the Columbian military and rightwing parliamentary death squads that work with them. The situation has also forced millions of people to flee their homes.

Although many people think that the Columbian war is all about drugs, in fact there were no drugs in Columbia when the war began. The roots of conflict are extreme social and economic inequalities – 0ver 65% of the population live in poverty.

People who speak out against the Columbian government and the war become targets of the Columbian army, with the government often using the paramilitaries to carry out the most extreme barbaric acts, including massacres, rapes, torture and disappearances.

Amongst the most persecuted are trade unionists. In the last 15 years more than 4 trade unionists on average have been murdered every week in Columbia – around 3,500 people in total. Many others have been ‘disappeared’, falsely imprisoned, threatened, tortured or forced from their homes and jobs.

Virtually nobody has been arrested for the crimes committed against trade union members.

Female Political Prisoners in Columbia

Columbia’s prisons currently hold hundreds of female political prisoners – trade unionists, human rights defenders, student leaders and other activists – all are imprisoned for their beliefs and opposition to Columbian government policies. Their fight for fundamental trade union and human rights have led them to be imprisoned – many without charge and held for years without trial, in order to suppress their political activity.