I think my union NEU/NUT is wrong to support the Venezuela and Cuba Solidarity campaigns

I recently spoke at NUT/NEU conference against a motion on Latin America. Motion 59. I was the only delegate to speak against the motion. I was concerned about supporting the Venezuela solidarity campaign and the Cuba solidarity campaign.

The motion is here in the final agenda. P100

https://www.teachers.org.uk/sites/default/files2014/14018-neu-nut-final-agenda-2018-low-res-pdf-inc-cover-gb.pdf

VENEZUELA

I first spoke about Venezuela and quoted the most recent 2017 Human rights watch report

 In Venezuela today, no independent government institutions remain to act as a check on executive power. The Venezuelan government—under Maduro and previously under Chávez—has stacked the courts with judges who make no pretence of independence. The government has been repressing dissent through often-violent crackdowns on street protests, jailing opponents, and prosecuting civilians in military courts. It has also stripped power from the opposition-led legislature. Due to severe shortages of medicines, medical supplies, and food, many Venezuelans cannot adequately feed their families or access the most basic healthcare. In response to the human rights and humanitarian crisis, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans are fleeing the country. Other persistent concerns include poor prison conditions, impunity for human rights violations, and harassment by government officials of human rights defenders and independent media outlets.

I also made reference to the “United Nations Human rights office of the High commissioner watch” report on the events that took place in Venezuela last summer. “Extensive human rights violations and abuses have been committed in the context of anti-Government protests in Venezuela” GENEVA (30 August 2017)

CUBA

I then spoke about Cuba and quoted the most recent 2017 Human rights watch report

The Cuban government continues to repress and punish dissent and public criticism. The number of short-term arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders, independent journalists, and others was significantly less than in 2016, but still remained high, with more than 3,700 reports of arbitrary detentions between January and August 2017. The government continues to use other repressive tactics, including beatings, public shaming, travel restrictions, and termination of employment.

As a trade unionist at a trade union conference, I then highlighted in the Human Rights watch report, the status of trade unions in Cuba

Despite updating its Labour Code in 2014, Cuba continues to violate conventions of the International Labour Organization that it has ratified, specifically regarding freedom of association, collective bargaining, protection of wages, and prohibitions on forced labour. While the law technically allows the formation of independent unions, in practice Cuba only permits one confederation of state-controlled unions, the Workers’ Central Union of Cuba.

Questions

I then proposed two questions to be answered by the proposers of this motion

1. Are these reports true or false? Yes or no?

2. If they are true, as a Trade unionist in good conscience, how could I support this motion?

The proposer of the motion replied that I should visit Cuba, the teachers that she met and people that she met there were happy and there are abuses of human rights in this country, so who are we to judge Cuba.

She failed to answer my questions.