Implications for Europe and the world of the "Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act" (Libertad) of the United States Congress
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 25 September 1997 (31st Sitting) (see Doc. 7881, report of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development, rapporteur : Mr González Laxe). Text adopted by the Assembly on 25 September 1997 (31st Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. In March 1996 the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act (Libertad) was signed into law by the President of the United States of America. This law provides for legal action against any companies, including foreign ones, which make use of American property expropriated after the Cuban revolution in 1959, and bars foreign executives of these countries and their families from entering the United States.
2. The Assembly strongly deplores the extraterritorial character of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, which runs counter to basic principles of public international law. In addition, the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act risks harming not only the friendly relations between the United States and many other nations, but also the efforts of the international community as a whole to ensure continued progress toward democracy, human rights, the rule of law, economic reform and prosperity for the long-suffering Cuban people.
3. The Assembly expresses the firm hope that the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act can be, if not revoked, then at least modified so as to free it of its unacceptable extraterritorial character. Meanwhile, all efforts must be deployed by the United States and all other countries and institutions concerned - including the European Union, the North American Free Trade Association and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) - to ensure that current divergencies do not weaken the newly created WTO, gravely damage the world economic climate or delay the day when Cuba can find its rightful place in the world community as a country of democracy, free and fair elections, human rights and the rule of law.
4. The Assembly urges OECD to ensure that the multilateral agreement on investment currently being negotiated includes a clause ruling out in the future any form of unilateral, extraterritorial action
5. The Assembly underlines the importance of the conflict-resolving capacity of the WTO panels, and calls on the Government of the United States to accept the decision of any such panel.
