Human Rights Watch supports the new rules announced by US President Barack Obama on January 14, 2011, which will allow religious, educational, and other civil society groups from the United States to travel to Cuba. The new regulations will also permit Americans to send remittances to assist Cuban citizens. The reforms represent a step towards dismantling the US embargo policy, which for decades has failed to improve human rights in Cuba and caused considerable harm for the Cuban people.
Human Rights Watch calls on the US Congress to build on the executive orders by ending the ban on travel to Cuba for all Americans, and pursue more effective, multilateral policies to press the Castro government to halt its repressive practices.
