Brazil ex-minister: Loss of Cuban doctors will hurt millions.

By Peter Prengaman

Millions of Brazilians may be left without access to doctors due to the end of a program that brought Cuban physicians to rural and dangerous areas in Brazil, the former health minister who helped create the initiative said Thursday.

The Cuban government on Wednesday said it would end the program after Brazilian President-elect Jair Bolsonaro said it could only continue if several conditions were met.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, campaigned in part on promises to take a hard line against left-leaning governments. As a congressman, the far-right leader often complained about the Cuban doctors’ program and tried to end it.

The U.N. voted (again) in support of lifting the Cuban embargo, but this time there was a twist.

By Mimi Whitefield

As it has every year since 1992, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Thursday for a resolution that called for lifting the U.S. embargo against Cuba — despite a U.S. move to put the focus on Cuba’s human rights record.

The vote was 189-2 in favor of the resolution with no abstentions. Only the United States and Israel voted against it.

Before the vote, there was debate on eight amendments proposed by the United States that criticized Cuba’s human rights record and lack of civil liberties on the island. The amendments were all defeated by wide margins with only three delegations — the United States, Israel and Ukraine — consistently voting for them. The Marshall Islands also voted in favor of one amendment.

US to launch campaign against Cuba at the United Nations.

The U.S. Department of State issued a press release on October 12, announcing the Government’s intention to use the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Chamber at the United Nations Headquarters to hold an event aimed at launching the Campaign “Jailed for What?” this Tuesday, October 16, on what they call the plight of Cuba’s political prisoners.

Using the name and premises of the United Nations for attacking one of its Member States is in contravention of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and International Law, and of the Organization’s regulations for holding meetings.

The event against Cuba, part of a politically defamatory campaign on the island and its government, is another aggression on the sovereignty and self-determination of the Cuban people.

The United Nations should not allow that human rights be manipulated by its most powerful member against another Member State, given that the United States Government lacks moral authority to judge any state, including Cuba, while President Trump’s administration drives an agenda based on racist, xenophobic and supremacist ideas.