WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama notified Congress on Tuesday that he has proposed removing Cuba from Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism.

“Today the president submitted to Congress the statutorily required report and certifications indicating the administration’s intent to rescind Cuba’s ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ designation,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

At a summit meeting in the Caribbean last week, President Obama declared that he was close to removing Cuba’s three-decade-old designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The US designated Cuba as a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ in 1982

“Our emphasis has been on the facts,” Mr Obama said. “As circumstances change, then that list will change as well.”

The United States designated Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism in 1982, accusing it of promoting armed revolution by organisations that used terrorism. Once designated, a country remains a state sponsor of terrorism until its designation is rescinded in accordance with statutory criteria.

In Cuba’s case, the applicable criteria require the president to submit a report to the Congress at least 45 days before the proposed rescission would take effect, justifying the rescission and certifying that the government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period.

The administration is also required to inform Congress the government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.

As part of his Dec 17, 2014, announcement of policy changes related to Cuba, President Obama instructed the Department of State to undertake a review of Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism based on an assessment of the available facts.

After a careful review of Cuba’s record, which was informed by the intelligence community, as well as assurances provided by the Cuban government, “the Secretary of State concluded that Cuba met the conditions for rescinding its designation as a state sponsor of terrorism,” the White House said.

The Secretary of State, therefore, recommended that the president submit to Congress the statutorily required report and certification.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2015

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