BECAUSE Unitarian Universalists covenant to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part; and

WHEREAS a team of specialists appointed by the American Association for World Health issued a report entitled "The Impact of the United States Embargo on Health and Nutrition in Cuba" and concluded that the health care and nutrition of the Cuban population is endangered by the embargo; and

WHEREAS during a medical mission that occurred in May, 1997, conditions were witnessed to be much worse than those revealed in the above-mentioned report; for example, the people of Cuba are being held prisoner as their rations of food and medicine are steadily lowered to inhumane levels; unsanitary conditions abound; and the absence or shortage of medical treatments and medicines was observed to cause many unnecessary deaths;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 1997 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association calls on Unitarian Universalists in the United States to work together in their congregations and with other congregations and organizations to:

1. Inform themselves and their communities regarding the serious condition of the Cuban people;
2. Support political action to end that part of the United States embargo which pertains to food, medicine, and medical supplies; and
3. Focus carefully on supplying relief to the Cuban people.