. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from Ici Haiti

On Friday, May 29, 2026, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs held the closing ceremony of the National Conference of Religious Leaders for Peace, Stability, and Civic Engagement. Following the workshops, the religious leaders adopted a Declaration reaffirming their collective commitment to peace, social cohesion, civic education, support for vulnerable populations, and the effective integration of young people.

Commitments of the Joint Declaration of Religious Leaders :

1 – We commit to promoting, within our religious communities, concrete initiatives for violence prevention, civic education, and support for vulnerable populations, and to working to raise awareness among our Haitian brothers and sisters of the values of peace, tolerance, civic responsibility, and living together, particularly through community activities, mediation efforts, awareness campaigns, and youth programs;

We also commit to strengthening, within our communities, mechanisms for violence prevention, spaces for dialogue, listening, and community mediation, as well as initiatives that promote the mentoring, training, and reintegration of vulnerable youth;

2 – We call for a national mobilization around peace, civic responsibility, and the effective integration and/or reintegration of young people, particularly those from vulnerable communities and those affected by violence;

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(Click here for a French article on this subject.)

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3 – We call upon the State, religious leaders, those of ancestral traditions, as well as spiritual and philosophical guides, the private sector, and civil society to unite their efforts to strengthen social cohesion, promote civic education, and build a culture of peace, stability, and civic responsibility;

4 – We reaffirm our commitment to supporting victims of violence and assisting young people through training, mentoring, psychosocial, cultural, and spiritual support initiatives, as well as the development of concrete alternatives to violence and crime;

5 – We recommend that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs promote the protection of places of worship and support religious leaders, those of ancestral traditions, as well as spiritual and philosophical guides in initiatives that foster interreligious dialogue, social cohesion, and the promotion of civic responsibility for peace, stability, and the strengthening of the Haitian social fabric;

• We urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs to establish a National Council for Interreligious Consultation (CNCI) to foster ongoing dialogue among all religious sectors, ancestral traditions, and spiritual and philosophical leaders to promote peace, security, and social cohesion in Haiti;

• We also urge the Government to declare May 28th “National Day of Religious Leaders, Ancestral Traditions, and Spiritual and Philosophical Leaders” to ensure the sustainability of this initiative, which involves groups from this sector in matters of national interest;

• We reaffirm our commitment to promoting responsible religious discourse that fosters hope, unity, fraternity, solidarity, and reconciliation in the best interests of the Haitian nation;

• Finally, we reaffirm our commitment to working alongside the Haitian State, particularly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, and civil society, to implement strategic plans to give concrete form to this Declaration.

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. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

A email message received at CPNN from the United National Antiwar Coalition

The statement below is a response to the ongoing blockade against Cuba and the propaganda derived from it.   We hope you will endorse this statement, but we also hope you will commit to emergency actions if the Trump Administration follows through with their threats to invade Cuba.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel lead mass march against US blockade

Sign On  to  “Cuba is Not a Failed State – It Is a Besieged State”
Register  your Emergency  Actions

At this critical junction in world history when the Cuban Revolution is being threatened by US hegemon, it is essential to come to its defense. Cuba is the hope of humanity.

We defend Cuba by combating the intentionally negative stereotyping of a failed state. The problems Cuba faces under blockade conditions should not be portrayed in such alarmist ways that it reinforces Washington’s propaganda. We need to combat this defeatist approach.
Cuba is being sanctioned for the crime of being a good example.

That Washington continues to intensify its six-decade campaign against the Cuban Revolution testifies to the island’s resilience and strength.

Washington’s regime-change campaign has taken a heavy toll. Responsible Statecraft describes US policy as “bent on breaking the island.” The Guardian reports “an epidemic of flies, rats, waste and foul odors.”

These accounts portray Cuban hardship but intentionally overlook Cuban social achievements. Even statements from Congressional leaders advocating for an end to the blockade by focusing on the crisis it has created, can feed into Washington’s self-serving narrative that Cuba is a “failed nation.”

When descriptions of the humanitarian crisis caused by the escalated blockade do not question the ideological assumption that accepts capitalism as the natural state of humanity, they can be used to depict socialism as an abortive failed experiment.

This is why solidarity activists must take special care to highlight the incredible achievements of Cuba, even under blockade conditions, all while waging an active campaign against the sanctions and gathering supplies to take to the island in solidarity.

Doing so much with so little

The Center for Economic and Policy Research documents a dramatic increase in infant mortality from 4.9, now rising to 9.9 per 1,000 live births, attributable to deteriorating living conditions caused by the US economic war.

Yet, even under this intentional strangulation, Cuba’s infant mortality rate remains among the lowest in the region. Cuba has free public, personalized healthcare for every Cuban from birth and throughout life.

Surrounding countries that are not facing any U.S. sanctions but are forced to survive under capitalist relations have consistently higher infant mortality rates. Panama (11), Dominican Republic (16), El Salvador (12), Honduras (15), Guatemala (20), Jamaica (12), Haiti (45-50).

Most stunning is that Cuba’s infant mortality figures under a ruthless blockade are still lower than for African Americans in the U.S. (10.9).

This reflects the demonstrated success of Cuba’s social medicine model, even under the most challenging of circumstances.

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How can war crimes be documented, stopped, punished and prevented?

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Using Cuba’s example of people-centered healthcare, Nicaragua dramatically reduced their infant mortality from 29 deaths per thousand in 2005 under a right-wing, pro U.S. government to 9 under the Sandinistas and with the assistance of Cuban doctors.

This is why the Trump administration is determined to block Cuban medical staff from providing medical care in the Caribbean. A dozen countries have acquiesced to demands from the U.S. to end medical agreements with Cuba.

Cuba’s medical staff focuses heavily on underserved areas in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. They provide more doctors and medical staff than the World Health Organization and most western nations combined. The United States calls Cuba’s medical internationalism “human trafficking” – but it’s really an internationalist lifeline for the Global South.

Cuba is not alone, as it receives significant solidarity aid from allied states. China, for example, is helping address Cuba’s fossil fuel dependency by supplying 49 solar farms (20% of all its energy needs) and fleets of electric buses, cars, and scooters. Our solidarity movement should highlight and encourage such international cooperation.

Among Cuba’s public health achievements are its international medical brigades, excellence in advanced research, response to the pandemic, service to underserved populations, south-south cooperation initiatives, and the world’s highest doctor-to-patient ratios.

The Cuban socialist model has also produced notable successes in sports and public education.

Writing from Cuba, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio defended the country’s accomplishments over the past decade despite the “intense economic war,” including:

° sustaining the national electrical system while expanding renewable energy

° strengthening telecommunications and expanding internet access

° supporting vulnerable populations through food cultivation

° improving water infrastructure in underserved communities

° developing COVID vaccines and other medicines
expanding domestic industry including the assembly of electric vehicles

For a small, natural resource-poor island, Cuba has achieved so much with so little and under such extraordinarily adverse conditions. The nation asks only that the jackboot of imperialism be lifted so that it may truly flourish.

International people’s solidarity must not allow these incredible achievements to be overlooked as we advocate for relief from the cruel blockade. We should describe this crisis the same way that the Cuban leadership describes it – acknowledging the harms of US imperialism, but always stressing the achievements of the Cuban revolution and the power of solidarity and cooperation.

¡Venceremos!

Leading Organizers from the Following Organizations support this Cuba statement and the Call to Action.

United National Antiwar Coalition, Cuba Si NY/NJ, International US-Cuba Normalization Conference, Venezuela Solidarity Network, US Peace Council, Alliance for Global Justice, SanctionsKill! Campaign, Resist U.S. Led War Movement, Black Alliance for Peace, International League of Peoples Struggles, Americas Without Sanctions, Chicago ALBA Solidarity, Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition, Task Force on the Americas, International Action Center, Veterans For Peace, Code Pink NY, National Lawyers Guild, Anti War Action Network, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Socialist Action, Bronx Antiwar, Compas de la Diaspora, Struggle for Socialism Party, Alberto Lovera Bolivarian Circle, Diaspora Pa’lante Collective, Workers World Party,

(This statement was initiated by the SanctionsKill Campaign.)

Add your support and help to circulate this statement.

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