Constitution of Cuba

The Constitution of Cuba was approved in a public national referendum in February 2019. It was drafted and submitted to public consultation between 2018 and 2019. The final version, published in January 2019 ahead of the referendum, was approved by 86.85 percent out of 8.7 million voters. In its preamble, the Constitution states Cuba’s commitment to “never returning to capitalism as a regime sustained by the exploitation of man by man, and that it is only in socialism and communism that a human being can achieve his or her full dignity”. 

The Constitution’s climate provision is motivated by Cuba’s sovereignty, as well as the antiimperialist and internationalist principles. This provision sets forth that the Republic will respond to climate change in light of the threat that it represents to humans, but considering the common but differentiated responsibilities principle, the international economic order, as well as production and consumption patterns. This climate provision is set in the Constitution’s main text in article 16, which reads: “The Republic of Cuba bases its international relations on the exercise of its sovereignty as well as on the antiimperialist and internationalist principles in accordance with the interests of the people and, in consequence: [..] f. Promotes the protection and conservation of the environment as well as responding to climate change, which threatens the survival of the human species, through the recognition of common, yet differential, responsibilities; the establishment of a more just and equitable international economic order as well as the eradication of irrational patterns of production and consumption; […]”.