By Laudia Sawer
Tema, May 02, GNA – Some civil society groups and institutions have written to the African Union Commission to officially recognise Cuba as the union’s Honorary Development Partner in acknowledgement of its unmatched contributions to Africa’s liberation and progress.
The groups included the Afrikan Continental Union Consult (ACUC), the Pan Afrikan Center of Namibia (PACON), Asociacion Por La Solidaridad Y Amistad Con Cuba-Burkina Faso (ASAC-BF), Ghana-Cuba Friendship Association (GHACHUFA), Congolese Renaissance Movement (CRM), and Poble Íntegre, Spain.
Others are Bloc Populaire Africain pour la souveraineté du Congo – BPASCO, All African People’s Organization (AAPO), Nigeria, Organización de Aliados Estratégicos de Desarrollo Económico, Social, Sustentable y Cultural de Africa (OSAESSDA), Angola, National Movement for Better Nigeria, Communist Party Marxist – Kenya (CPM-K), and others.
In a communique copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Tema, they declared that the African Union Commission should convene an extraordinary session to address the humanitarian and diplomatic implications of the economic embargo unilaterally imposed on the Republic of Cuba by the United States of America and to issue a strong continental appeal to the United Nations and the United States Government to lift the embargo.
“We, the undersigned, acting in consciousness of our shared history, mutual struggles, and the enduring values of South-South Cooperation, issue this solemn and urgent communiqué in recognition of the pivotal role played by the Republic of Cuba in Africa’s development and liberation journey.”
They also called for the strengthening of bilateral cooperation between African nations and Cuba, expanding scholarship opportunities, technical exchange, trade partnerships, and health missions in a manner that affirms reciprocal solidarity.
The groups also called on the AU to establish an annual “Africa-Cuba Solidarity Week” to be commemorated across member states in honour of its shared history, heroes, and hope for a just world order.
“Africa remembers. Africa does not forget. As beneficiaries of Cuba’s sweat, sacrifice, and solidarity, it is our moral and diplomatic obligation to rise now—not tomorrow, not in whispers, but in firm international conviction—to defend the sovereignty and dignity of the Republic of Cuba. Cuba stood with Africa. Now, Africa must stand with Cuba,” it added.
They recognised that Cuba has, over the past six decades, offered professional training, medical services, and technical assistance to thousands of African citizens in critical sectors including health, agriculture, engineering, information technology, and education.
According to them, the Cuban doctors, engineers, and educators have served with humility and excellence across African countries, often in rural, underserved, and post-conflict areas where few others dared to go.
They added that Cuba sacrificed its sons and daughters in the heroic battlefields of Cuito Cuanavale and beyond, standing firm with Africa against colonialism and apartheid.
“Cuba’s humanitarian internationalism has prioritised human development over mineral extraction and liberty over domination, distinguishing it from exploitative foreign relations driven by resource greed.”
GNA
LS/KOA