WILPF has been working to normalize relations between Cuba and the U.S. since the imposition of the blockade in 1960.  Resolutions passed by the 15th WILPF International Congress in 1962, the 21st Congress in 1980, the 26th Congress in 1995,  the 27th WILPF International Congress in 1998 and the 2004 Congress in Sweden  have all supported the sovereignty and right to self-determination for the Cuban people.

In the tradition of woman-to-woman diplomacy, WILPF members have been traveling to Cuba to learn about the realities of Cuban women’s lives and the success of the women’s movement under the Cuban revolution.

In the 1960’s, in response to the U.S. government travel ban to Cuba, Helen Travis,  a trade union and social justice activist and an active member of U.S. WILPF, traveled to Cuba and was prosecuted by the U.S. government.  After a number of appeals, Travis’ case was accepted and successfully overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court after the Court decided that U.S. citizens have a protected freedom to travel.   Since then many groups including WILPF, U.S. Women & Cuba Collaboration, Venceremos Brigade and U.S. Labor Exchange have used this case to challenge the U.S. ban on travel to Cuba. 

Beginning in the 1990’s WILPF began organizing delegations of women to attend peace and women’s conferences in Cuba and to meet with women in the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC).  These delegations visited schools, hospitals, farms, urban gardens and neighborhoods to exchange information on our countries and to build solidarity with the Cuban people.  During President Clinton’s administration, under the relaxation of rules for travel to Cuba, WILPF was able to bring delegations under a license issued by the U.S. government, making travel “legal” under our government guidelines. 

Through these various delegations, hundreds of women traveled with WILPF to Cuba.  Under George Bush, Jr.’s administration all licensed travel to Cuba ended, the blockade was intensified and scores of travelers to Cuba were prosecuted even though Helen Travis had won the right to travel in the 1960’s. 

In 2006, WILPF International sent a women’s delegation and issued a report with recommendations on potential areas of work to continue building solidarity with the people of Cuba.

WILPF members carry out their Cuba work through the Women and Cuba Issues Committee and play leadership roles in U.S. Women and Cuba Collaboration and U.S.-Cuba Sister Cities Association.

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Three reasons why Cuba is a peace issue and a women's issue and why WILPF members should care.

1. The U.S. is, and has been, waging a "low-intensity war" on Cuba for over 40 years through the blockade on trade and travel, support of anti-Castro terrorists, and a U.S, media that constantly projects an image of a brutal, repressive, totalitarian dictatorship that belies the reality of Cuba.

2. While U.S. peace activists haved focused on ending the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan and the violence in the Middle East, the Bush administration was quietly stepping up its plans for the takeover of the Cuban government. A Coordinator for the Transition to a Free Cuba was appointed by the State Department and shortly thereafter the Commission for the Transition to a Free Cuba was reconvened. Its task was to up-date the Commission's 2003 plan which resulted in the overt funding of Cuban dissidents, draconian restrictions on travel to Cuba, expanded barriers to trade, and an escalation of government provocative rhetoric.

3. The U.S. war on Cuba jeopardizes the welfare of Cuban women. The Revolution brought even more benefits to women than it did to others in the population, with woman's equality of pay, free childcare, unlimited education and career opportunities, elder care (which formerly fell mostly to the women), and free and quality reproductive services, such as family planning and access to safe abortion. All these gains would be threatened if the plans of the U.S. government and the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba were implemented after a takeover.

What can you do? Here are some suggestions:

• Form a committee in your branch to educate members and the public to challenge the U.S. Policy on Cuba
• Join the Cuba Advocacy Network (CAN!) and work to bring change in policy through the U.S. Congress
• Promote a delegation to the International Women’s Peace Conference in Havana
• Join the WILPF Cuba Issues Committee

For help with getting off the ground in any of these efforts, contact WILPF’s Cuba Issues Committee c/o the national office, or Nancy Abbey, 831-465-8272 , email: nabbey@cruzio.com

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Issue Committee Overview

Since becoming an Issue Committee, our organizing efforts and leadership structure have continued to grow and evolve. WILPF plays an integral role as a member of the Women and Cuba Collaboration, a national project comprised of three organizations: the Women's International League for Peace & Freedom, the EveryWoman's Movement for Cuba/LELO and Hermanas. The Collaborations' vision is to build a multi-racial, multi-cultural network of women formed to end the blockade of Cuba and, through this work, contribute to building a women's movement for racial and economic justice in the U.S.

We also collaborate on a variety of educational and awareness-raising activities around organizing to end the U.S. Blockade through legislation, the Free the Five Campaign, and the US-Cuba Sister Cities Association.

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