Human rights in Cuba
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2008-07-15T13:55:57Z
Frank Pais
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[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 225715481 by [[Special:Contributions/Acclark|Acclark]] ([[User talk:Acclark|talk]]) Unsourced claims must be substantiated or removed.
{{POV|date=December 2007}}
{{Life in Cuba}}
''See also [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]]''
'''[[Human rights]] in [[Cuba]]''' are a subject of much debate. While Cuba is a signatory to the [[United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] and its [[Cuban constitution|constitution]] has a section outlining the "fundamental rights, duties and guarantees" of the Cuban people, <ref>[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Cuba#CHAPTER_VII._FUNDAMENTAL_RIGHTS.2C_DUTIES_AND_GUARANTEES Cuban 1992] English Version, [http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Cuba/cuba2002.html In Spanish]</ref> its [[Communist state|communist government]], led by [[Fidel Castro]] from the [[Cuban Revolution]] until 2008, has been accused of numerous human rights violations.
==History==
{{Politics of Cuba}}
Since the earliest days of Spanish colonization, human rights in Cuba have been an issue of concern. The oppression of the indigenous populations was chronicled at length by clergyman [[Bartolomé de las Casas]]. The subsequent transportation of African slaves to the island, which lasted over 300 years, led to [[United Kingdom|British]] military intervention and a determination "to put a stop to these abuses".<ref> ''Report from the British commissionary judge, Havana, to the Foreign secretary (Lord Stanley). September 30. 1866.'' Thomas, Hugh. Cuba. : The pursuit of freedom. p.1050.</ref> Since [[Cuba]]
achieved independence in 1902, successive Cuban governments have been criticised and condemned by various groups, both within Cuba and internationally, for human rights violations on the island.
During the latter part of the Spanish colonial era in Cuba, human rights on the island became a particular international concern. After a visit to the region in 1898, [[U.S. Senator]] [[Redfield Proctor]] estimated that that up to 200,000 Cubans had died from starvation and disease within "[[Valeriano Weyler#Cuba and the concentration camps|Spanish forts]]", essentially [[concentration camps]].<ref>http://hcs.harvard.edu/~rhetoric/proctor.htm Harvard rhetorical society</ref> The concern was a contributory factor in garnering support for the [[Spanish-American war]] in the U.S.
After independence, and following a sustained period of instability, the 1924-33 government of [[Gerardo Machado]] proved to be authoritarian. Machado extended his rule until a student led uprising deposed him in 1933. The post-Machado period was marked by violent reprisals, mass lynchings and a deterioration towards extreme corruption and ''gansterismo'' throughout the island.<ref> [[Hugh Thomas, Baron Thomas of Swynnerton|Hugh Thomas]] : Cuba, The pursuit of freedom. p.388</ref>
General [[Fulgencio Batista]], the man who ousted Machado, went on to govern the island periodically, as ''[[de facto]]'' leader and [[List of Presidents of Cuba|President]], for twenty-six years, his authoritarian rule becoming the subject of further concern.<ref> [http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/funfacts/batist.htm History of Cuba] written and compiled by J.A. Sierra</ref>
[[Image:Time-magazine-machado.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Picture of [[Gerardo Machado]] on the cover of ''[[Time Magazine]]'' titled "Dictator of Cuba"]]
Batista's second spell as President was marked by increased intolerance of dissent. Even some of Batista's supporters expressed concern when, in an effort to combat Castro's forces, police officers were given license to kill those suspected of organizing a general strike in April 1958. <ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,810279,00.html Strongman's Round - TIME<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The torture and murders of civilians including two young sisters in Havana outraged the public, as did the activities of the [[CIA]]-funded [[Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities]] (BRAC), which had become unpopular in the U.S. (indeed, the then CIA general director complained). <ref>Jon Lee Anderson. ''Che Guevara : A revolutionary life''. p343</ref>
In 1959, [[Fidel Castro]] and his forces succeeded in displacing Batista from power. His spell as Prime Minister began with a ruthless crackdown on any signs of dissent. In the immediate aftermath of Batista's downfall, the revolutionaries held numerous trials without due process. These show trials would often culminate in the summary execution of the accused by the infamous [[paredones]] <ref> [The Day After — Cuba: His Brother’s Keeper] Foreign Policy archive.</ref><ref> [http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/castro_year1/castroyr1.ruleoflaw.html The End of the Rule of Law March 1959] Fidel Castro, by Robert E. Quirk 1993 </ref> the suspension of [[habeas corpus]] and the executions of suspected Batista co-conspirators.<ref>[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1223370,00.html Time Magazine] "Early on, the younger brother gained a reputation for ruthlessness, overseeing the execution of scores of Batista soldiers in 1959, an image that would be reinforced over the years when Raúl ordered the death, imprisonment or ouster from the Communist Party of a long line of dissidents and potential rivals."</ref>
The "Cuban National Reconciliation movement", a U.S.-based organisation that aims to act as a forum for discussing Cuban society, has detailed what it believes are complex variables when analysing human rights immediately after the revolution. In the 1960s, violent confrontations known as the [[Escambray Rebellion]] between the Cuban government and armed opposition were ongoing, but had declined by the early 1970s. The group asserts that by the time international human rights movements flourished in the 1970s, the most severe period of repression was over, making non-partisan retrospective assessments of the period difficult. The reconciliation movement also cite the difficulties in assessing accounts of abuses that are commonly split upon partisan lines. According to the group, [[Cuban exiles]] who were often the first to denounce the Cuban government, largely shared an anti-Communist ideology and overlooked violations committed by other regimes, whilst many left leaning observers did not give the claims of Cuban victims due consideration.<ref>[http://memoria.fiu.edu/memoria/documents/Book_English.pdf ''Cuban National Reconciliation movement''] Task force report 2003</ref>
=== Political persecution ===
Various estimates have been made to ascertain the number of political executions carried out on behalf of the Cuban Government in Cuba since the revolution. According to Amnesty International, death sentences from 1959-87 numbered 237 of which all but 21 were actually carried out. <ref> ''When the State Kills: the death penalty v. human rights'', Amnesty International Publications, 1989 </ref> The Cuban Government justified such measures on the grounds that the application of the death penalty in Cuba against war criminals and others followed the same procedure as that seen in the trials by the Allies in the Nuremberg trials. Some Cuban scholars maintain that had the Government not applied severe legislation against the torturers, terrorists, and other criminals employed by the Batista regime, the people themselves would have taken justice into their own hands. <ref>Raul Gomez Treto, "Thirty Years of Cuban Revolutionary Penal Law", ''Latin American Perspectives'', Vol. 18, No. 2, Spring, 1991, pp. 114-125 </ref>
Latin American historian Thomas E Skidmore, assessed that there had been 550 executions in the first six months of 1959.<ref name="Atlas">http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat6.htm#Cuba59 Minor Atrocities of the Twentieth Century Full Source list compiled by the Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century</ref> Among those executed were former Batista regime officials and members of the [[Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities]] (''Buró de Represión de Actividades Comunistas''; a unit of the secret police known by its Spanish acronym BRAC).<ref>Anderson, Jon Lee. ''Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life'', New York: 1997, Grove Press, p. 372 - p. 425</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0807842044&id=o2SFNdAiB7UC&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&ots=P6O8YS6-U7&dq=Cuba+550+political+executions&sig=3NaOD2GttXFUZIwJphZf-dv4EAg Eisenhower and Latin America] Stephen G. Rabe p123-4</ref> British historian [[Hugh Thomas, Baron Thomas of Swynnerton|Hugh Thomas]], in his extensive study ''Cuba or the pursuit of freedom''<ref>[http://www.longitudebooks.com/find/p/7230/mcms.html Cuba or the Pursuit of Freedom Hugh Thomas]</ref> alleged that "perhaps" 5,000 executions had taken place by 1970,<ref name="Atlas"/> whilst ''The World Handbook of Political and Social Indicators'' ascertained that there had been 2,113 political executions between the years of 1958-67.<ref name="Atlas"/>
[[Cuban American]] emigrant sources place the number of executions in a far higher bracket. The [[Cuban American National Foundation]] alleges that since the revolution 12,000 political executions have taken place.<ref name="Atlas"/> Dr. Armando Lago, of the [[Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy]], a group of academics whose board of directors is almost entirely Cuban exiles,<ref>[http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/asce/about/history/ Notes on the History of
The Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy] </ref> claim that between 15,000 and 18,000 Cubans were executed for [[counterrevolutionary]] activities since the revolution. He also alleges that 250 Cubans disappeared during the period, 500 died in prison for lack of medical attention, 500 were killed in prison by guards and there were 150 extrajudicial assassinations of women. Lago calculated these numbers "using old news accounts, U.S. and Organization of American States records and family histories."<ref> [http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y00/sep00/08e1.htm In N.Y., Cuban exiles detail abuses] Miami Herald </ref> Lago's study relies heavily on records of the US State Department and the [[Organization of American States]].
The ''[[Black Book of Communism]]'' claims an estimate of 15,000-17,000 people who were executed.<ref>Black Book of Communism. p. 664.</ref>
The author of the Historical Atlas, an online personal compilation of various sources, claims: ''The dividing line between those who have an axe to grind and those who don't falls in the 5,000-12,000 range.''<ref name="Atlas"/>
The highest estimates are given by R.J. Rummel, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Hawaii. He claims the number of 73,000 as the mid-point estimate of victims of the alleged [[democide]] by the Castro administration. His low and high estimates are 35,000 and 141,000 respectively. One important reason his numbers are higher than those from other sources is because he counts the estimated deaths of refugees trying to flee and for example drowning as democide.[http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/SOD.TAB15.1B.GIF]
In 1986 a "Tribunal on Cuba" was held in [[Paris]] to present testimonies by former prisoners of Cuba's penal system to the international media. The gathering was sponsored by "Resistance international" and "The Coalition of Committees for the Rights of Man in Cuba". The testimonies presented at the tribunal, before an international panel, alleged a pattern of torture in Cuba's prisons and "hard labor camps". These included beatings, biological experiments in diet restrictions, violent interrogations and extremely unsanitary conditions. The jury concurred with allegations of arbitrary arrests; sentencing by court martial with neither public audience nor defense; periods in hard labour camps without sufficient food, clothes and medical care; and the arrests of children over nine years old.<ref>[http://polarch.sas.ac.uk/pdf_documents/TropicalGulag.pdf Tribunal on Cuba] Paris April 1986</ref>
====Execution of General Arnaldo Ochoa====
The number of reported executions in Cuba declined during the 1970s and by the 1980s were restricted to rare high-profile cases, notably the execution of General [[Arnaldo Ochoa]] in [[1989]]. Ochoa, once proclaimed "Hero of the Revolution" by Fidel Castro, along with three other high-ranking officers, was brought to trial for [[drug trafficking]]. This offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, but Ochoa and the others were convicted of [[treason]] and promptly executed, largely on the basis of secret evidence. {{Fact|date=February 2007}}
Opponents of the Castro government outside of Cuba expressed skepticism about the legitimacy of Ochoa's arrest and execution. In the opinion of former Brigadier-General [[Rafael del Pino]], who had been a close personal friend of Ochoa since the early days of the revolution, the arrest and execution was an attempt to keep a different high-ranking Cuban official from defecting. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} Del Pino himself [[defector|defected]] from Cuba in May [[1987]].
==Contemporary Cuba==
====Opposition Movement====
The opposition movement in Cuba is a widespread collection of individuals and nongovernmental organizations, most of whom are working for the respect of [[individual rights]] on the island.<ref>[http://web.amnesty.org/report2004/cub-summary-eng Amnesty International<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Some of the best known Cuban members of the opposition include the [[Ladies in White]] (recipients of the 2005 [[Sakharov Prize]] for Freedom of Thought), [[Martha Beatriz Roque]], and [[Nobel Peace Prize]] nominee and [[Sakharov Prize]] winner [[Oswaldo Payá]], as well as [[Oscar Elías Biscet]], and [[Jorge Luis García Pérez]] "Antúnez." The movement is violently repressed by the State despite its nonviolent strategy for change.<ref>[http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/04/hcirtestimony041603.htm Crackdown Against Dissidents in Cuba, Testimony of José Miguel Vivanco (Human Rights Watch, April 2003)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
The opposition movement in Cuba is also supported by the [[Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus]] and the [[US-Cuba Democracy Pac]] and non-governmental organizations such as the [[Mothers Against Repression]], [[Cuban Liberty Council]], and the [[Cuban American National Foundation]], to name a few. In turn, international human rights organizations such as [[Amnesty International]] and [[Human Rights Watch]] have drawn attention to the actions of the human rights movement and designated members of it as [[Prisoner of Conscience|Prisoners of Conscience]], such as [[Oscar Elías Biscet]]. In addition, the [[International Committee for Democracy in Cuba]] led by former heads of state [[Vaclav Havel]] of the Czech Republic, [[José María Aznar]] of Spain and [[Patricio Aylwin]] of Chile was created to support the civic movement.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3668018.stm BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Havel hails anti-Castro activists<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
=== Due process ===
[[Human Rights Watch]] states that "Although in theory the different branches of government have separate and defined areas of authority, in practice the executive retains clear control over all levers of power. The courts, which lack independence, undermine the right to fair trial by severely restricting the right to a defense." and "The government also imprisons or orders the surveillance of individuals who have committed no illegal act, relying upon provisions that penalize “dangerousness” (estado peligroso) and allow for “official warning” (advertencia oficial)."[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/cuba12207.htm]
===Freedom of Expression===
Cuba officially adopted the civil and political rights enumerated in the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] in 1948. One of the key principles in the declaration was the insistence on [[Freedom of Speech|Freedom of expression and opinion]]. In 1976 the new [[Cuban constitution]] adopted the following articles.
Article 53:
{{cquote|"Citizens have freedom of speech and of the press in keeping with the objectives of socialist society. Material conditions for the exercise of that right are provided by the fact that the press, radio, television, cinema, and other mass media are state or social property and can never be private property. This assures their use at exclusive service of the working people and in the interests of society. The law regulated the exercise of those freedoms."}}
Article 62 of the Cuban constitution states:
{{cquote|"None of the freedoms which are recognized for citizens can be exercised contrary to what is established in the Constitution and by law, or contrary to the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and communism. Violations of this principle can be punished by law."}}
Individual Human rights groups and international organizations believe that these articles subordinate the exercise of freedom of expression to the state. The [[Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]] assess that: "It is evident that the exercise of the right to freedom of expression under this article of the Constitution is governed by two fundamental determinants: on the one hand, the preservation and strengthening of the communist State; on the other, the need to muzzle any criticism of the group in power."<ref> [http://www.fiu.edu/~fcf/IACHR.html#II Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Report on Cuba] </ref> Human rights group [[Amnesty International]] assert that the universal state ownership of the media means that freedom of expression is restricted. Thus the exercise of the right to freedom of expression is restricted by the lack of means of mass communication falling outside state control.<ref>[http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR250012006 CUBA: fundamental freedoms still under attack] Amnesty</ref> [[Human Rights Watch]] states: "Refusing to recognize human rights monitoring as a legitimate activity, the government denies legal status to local human rights groups. Individuals who belong to these groups face systematic harassment, with the government putting up obstacles to impede them from documenting human rights conditions. In addition, international human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are barred from sending fact-finding missions to Cuba. It remains one of the few countries in the world to deny the International Committee of the Red Cross access to its prisons."[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/cuba12207.htm]
A [[Reporters Without Borders]] report finds that Internet use is very restricted and under tight surveillance. Access is only possible with government permission and equipment is rationed. E-mail is monitored.[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=7202] See also [[Censorship in Cuba]].
Foreign journalists are systematically expelled from Cuba, eg. notable journalists of [[New Left]] [[Gazeta Wyborcza]] Anna Bikont and Seweryn Blumsztahn were expelled in [[2005]].
=== Freedom of Association and Assembly ===
Human Rights Watch states that "[[freedom of assembly]] is severely restricted in Cuba, and political dissidents are generally prohibited from meeting in large groups.[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/cuba12207.htm] [[Amnesty International|Amnesty]] states that "All human rights, civil and professional associations and unions that exist today in Cuba outside the officialdom of the state apparatus and mass organizations controlled by the government are barred from having legal status. This often puts at risk the individuals who belong to these associations of facing harassment, intimidation or criminal charges for activities which constitute the legitimate exercise of the fundamental freedoms of expression, association and assembly."[http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR250012006?open&of=ENG-CUB]
The Cuban authorities only recognize a single national trade union centre, the [[Central de Trabajadores de Cuba]] (CTC), heavily controlled by the State and the Communist Party which appoints its leaders. Membership is compulsory for all workers. Before a worker can be hired they have to sign a contract in which they promise to support the Communist Party and all it represents. The government explicitly prohibits independent trade unions, there is systematic harassment and detention of labor activists, and the leaders of attempted independent unions have been imprisoned. The right to strike is not recognized in law.[http://www.cubaverdad.net/workers_paradise.htm][http://www.cubaverdad.net/independent_trade_unions.htm][http://www.cubaverdad.net/violations_of_social_and_labor.htm]
===Society===
Permission from the government is required to move to another home due to the lack of private property rights. Jobs are also subject to state control.
In [[2001]] an attempt was made by [[Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas]] and others from the Christian Liberation Movement, operating as the [[Varela Project]], to have a national [[plebiscite]] using provisions in the [[Constitution of Cuba]] which provided for [[initiative|citizen initiative]]. If accepted by the government and approved by public vote, the amendments would have established such things as [[freedom of association]], [[freedom of speech]], [[freedom of press]], as well as starting private businesses. The [[petition]] was refused by the National Assembly and in response a referendum was held in support of socialism being a permanent fixture of the constitution, for which the government claimed 99% voter approval.
Another important project is the establishment of the Assembly to Promote Civil Society. The Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba is a coalition of 365 independent civil society groups with the stated aims of forming a democratic culture, developing a social movement, strengthening the Assembly’s organization, communicating among groups to promote the civil society, using all available means to combat poverty and seeking the betterment of the community’s life conditions, developing a true knowledge of Cuba’s history, in all its dimensions: economic, social and political, undertaking activities and projects aimed at the protection and conservation of natural resources and the ecosystem, and promoting a true culture on labor rights.<ref>[http://www.asambleasociedadcivilcuba.info/Asamblea/Asamblea-en.htm Sitio Oficial de la Asamblea para Promover la Sociedad Civil en Cuba<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The Assembly had its first meeting in May 2005.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/05/20/world/main697016.shtml Cuban Dissidents Cry 'Freedom', Pro-Democracy Group Holds Rare Public Meeting In Havana - CBS News<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
===Capital punishment===
Cuba placed a moratorium on the use of [[capital punishment]] in 2001 but an exception was made when, in 2003, three Cubans were executed for a ferry hijacking using automatic weapons in which Cuban families and two young French female tourists were held at gunpoint. The incident resulted in no injuries, but was broadcast on national television to wide condemnation; the decision to execute was allegedly taken in order to deter a supposed US plot to start a wave of hijackings.
==="Acts of repudiation"===
Human rights groups including Amnesty International have long been critical of what the Cuban authorities have termed "Acts of repudiation" (''actos de repudio''). These acts occur when large groups of citizens verbally abuse, intimidate and sometimes physically assault and throw stones and other objects at homes of Cubans considered to be [[counter-revolutionary]]. Human rights groups suspect that these acts are often carried out in collusion with the security forces and sometimes involve the [[Committees for the Defence of the Revolution]] or the Rapid Response Brigades. The level of violence of these acts have increased significantly since 2003.<ref>[http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR250012006 Amnesty International report 2006]</ref>
===Notable Prisoners of conscience===
* In [[1960]], [[Armando Valladares]] was working at the Cuban Postal Savings Bank when agents of the Ministry of Communications handed him a card bearing a communist slogan and told him to put it on his worktable. The 23-year-old Valladares refused. Astonished, the agents asked him if he had anything against Castro. Valladares answered that if Castro was a communist, he did. Valladares was convicted on a charge of placing bombs in public places and was sentenced to thirty years in prison. His supporters contend that he was never part of the Batista police as alleged by Castro supporters (as Valladares was only 19 at the time of the revolution), and that his imprisonment was the result of his vocal opposition to the Castro government. Conservative author [[David Horowitz (conservative writer)|David Horowitz]] has called him a "Human Rights Hero." Valladares claims to have been tortured and humiliated while on a hunger strike to protest prison abuses; he claims the guards denied him water until he became delirious, and proceeded to urinate in his mouth and on his face. Valladares was released from prison after twenty-two years upon the intercession of France's [[Socialist]] [[President]] [[François Mitterrand]].
* In 1973, gay writer [[Reinaldo Arenas]] was sent to prison after being charged and convicted of 'ideological deviation' and for publishing abroad without official consent. He escaped from prison and tried to leave Cuba by launching himself from the shore on a tire inner tube. The attempt failed and he was re-arrested near Lenin Park and imprisoned at the notorious El Morro Castle alongside murderers and rapists. After escaping Cuba, Arenas described the horrors he endured under the Cuban regime in his autobiography ''Antes que anochezca'' (1992), English translation ''Before Night Falls'' (1993).
* On [[August 28]], [[1998]], a Havana court sentenced [[Reynaldo Alfaro García]], a member of the [[Democratic Solidarity Party]], to three years in prison for "spreading enemy propaganda" and "rumour-mongering."
* Desi Mendoza, a Cuban doctor, was imprisoned for making statements criticizing Cuba's response to an epidemic of dengue fever in Santiago de Cuba which he alleged had caused several deaths. Dr. Mendoza had previously been fired from his job in a Cuban hospital three years earlier for establishing an independent medical association. He was later released due to ill-health, subject to his leaving the country. [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR250281997?open&of=ENG-348] [http://shr.aaas.org/aaashran/alert.php?a_id=112]
* [[Oscar Elías Biscet]], a medical doctor, has been sentenced to jail for 25 years in horrendous conditions for his peaceful, but vocal opposition to Castro.
* In early 2003 dozens of persons, including independent journalists, librarians and other opponents of the Castro government were jailed after summary show trials, with some sentences in excess of 20 years, on the charge of receiving money from the United States to carry out anti-government activity.
* An [[Amnesty International]] report, [http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR250012006?open&of=ENG-CUB CUBA: fundamental freedoms still under attack] from [[Amnesty International]] calls for the "Cuban authorities to release all prisoners of conscience immediately and unconditionally" and to "revoke all legislation that restricts freedom of expression, assembly and association, and to put a halt to all actions to harass and intimidate dissidents, journalists, and [[human rights defender]]s."
* [[Jorge Luis García Antúnez]] was reported to have been released from prison in April 2007 after serving his full sentence of 17 years and 34 days after having, at the age of 25, shouted slogans against Fidel Castro. García Antúnez was convicted of sabotage after authorities accused him of setting fire to sugar cane fields, sabotage, spreading "enemy propaganda", and being in illegal possession of a weapon.<ref>{{cite news | first= | last= | coauthors= | title=Castro opponent free after 17 years in jail | date=April 24 2007 | publisher= | url =http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN2331960920070423 | work =Reuters | pages = | accessdate = 2007-04-24 | language = }}</ref><ref>[http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engAMR250032001!Open Insufficient medical care for Jorge Luis García Pérez]. Amnesty International.</ref>
=== Travel and emigration ===
Citizens cannot leave or return to Cuba without first obtaining official permission, which is often denied.[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/cuba12207.htm] Unauthorized travel can result in criminal prosecution. The government also frequently bars certain citizens engaged in authorized travel (primarily medical personnel and other professionals deemed essential to the country) from taking their children with them overseas, which critics see as essentially holding the children hostage to guarantee the parents’ return.[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/cuba12207.htm]
Castro opposition leader [[Oswaldo Payá]] has been allowed to travel abroad to receive his [[Sakharov Prize]], while independent journalist [[Yndamiro Restano]], permitted to leave Cuba to receive an award, has not been allowed to return.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
From [[1959]] through [[1993]], some 1.2 million Cubans (about 10% of the current population) left the island for the United States [http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/000797.html], often by sea in small boats and fragile rafts. In the early years a number of those who could claim dual Spanish-Cuban citizenship left for Spain. Over time a number of Cuban Jews were released to Israel in quiet negotiations; the majority of the 10,000 or so Jews who were in Cuba in 1959 have left. After the collapse of the Soviet Union many Cubans now reside in a diverse number of countries, some ending up in countries of the [[European Union]]. A large number of Cubans live in Mexico and Canada.
At times the exodus was tolerated by the Cuban government as a "release valve"; at other times the government has impeded it. Some Cubans left for economic reasons, some for political ones, but most departed for a combination of the two.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Others emigrated by way of the [[United States Navy|U.S. Naval Base]] at [[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay]], which is blocked on the Cuban side by barbed-wired fences and landmines. It is estimated that only one of every three or four Cubans who have attempted to escape has been successful. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} Thousands have died in their attempts.
In [[1995]] the U.S. government entered into an agreement with the Cuban government to resolve the emigration crisis that created the [[Mariel Boatlift]] of 1980, when Castro opened the docks to anyone who wanted to leave. The result of the negotiations was an agreement under which the United States was required to issue 20,000 visas annually to Cuban emigrants. This quota is rarely filled;Bush administration has refused to comply with the act, issuing only 505 visas to Cubans in the first six months of [[2003]]. However, this does not address the blockage of certain visa-carrying Cubans.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
On [[July 13]], [[1994]], 72 Cubans attempted to leave the Island on a [[World War II]] era [[tugboat]] named the ''[[13 de Marzo Incident|13 de Marzo]]''. In an attempt by the Cuban Navy to stop the tugboat, patrol boats were sent out to intercept the tug. Crewmen and survivors reported that the interception vessels rammed the tugboat and sprayed its passengers with high pressure fire hoses, sweeping many overboard.[http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/cuba12207.htm] A total of 41 men, women and children drowned after being swept off the tug’s deck, 11 of these were children under the age of 12.
===Right to Education===
:''Main article: [[Education in Cuba]]''
Education in Cuba is nominally free at all levels and controlled by the Ministry for Education. In 1961 the government nationalized all private educational institutions and introduced a state-directed education system. The system has been criticized for political indoctrination and for monitoring the political opinions of the students. It has also been criticized for prohibiting any private alternatives to the state-directed education system and for limiting the power of parents to influence their children's education.
===Right to Healthcare===
:''Main article: [[Healthcare of Cuba]]''
The Cuban government operates a national health system and assumes full fiscal and administrative responsibility for the health care of its citizens. The government prohibits any private alternatives to the national health system.
In 1976, Cuba's healthcare program was enshrined in Article 50 of the revised constitution which states, "Everyone has the right to health protection and care". The [[Cuban American National Foundation]] claims that the Cuban healthcare system is negatively affecting the health of the Cuban people.<ref name = "canf.org-medical">Cuban American National Foundation. Health Care in Cuba: Myth Versus Reality http://www.canf.org/Issues/medicalapartheid.htm</ref>
Some of Cuba's best medical facilities allegedly exclude Cuban citizens unless they pay in US dollars. The founder of Havana's International Center for Neurological Restoration, Dr. Hilda Molina, in 1994 quit her position after refusing to increase the number of neural transplant operations without the required testing and follow-up. She expressed outrage that only foreigners are treated.<ref name = "canf.org-medical"/>
=== Religious freedom ===
:''Main article: [[Religion in Cuba]]''
In the years following the [[Cuban Revolution]], the [[Roman Catholic Church]] suffered persecution. Not only did Castro severely limit its activities, but in [[1961]] he confiscated, without compensation, all property held by religious organizations. Hundreds of members of the [[clergy]], including a [[bishop]], were permanently expelled from the nation. The Cuban leadership was officially [[atheism|atheist]] until [[1992]] when the [[Communist Party of Cuba|Communist Party]] agreed to allow religious followers to join the party. In [[1998]], [[Pope John Paul II]] visited the island and was allowed to conduct large outdoor [[mass (liturgy)|masses]]. During his visit, the Pope strongly condemned Castro and his human rights record but encouraged reconciliation. That same year, Cuba approved [[visa (document)|visas]] for nineteen foreign priests to take up residence in the country. In addition, other religious groups in Cuba such as the [[Jew]]ish community are now permitted to hold public services and to import religious materials and [[kosher]] food for [[Passover]], as well as to receive [[rabbi]]s and other religious visitors from abroad.
===Rights of women===
{{main|Women in Cuba}}
Women in Cuba have equal [[constitution of Cuba|constitutional]] rights as men in the [[economy of Cuba|economic]], [[Politics of Cuba|political]], [[Culture of Cuba|cultural]] and social fields, as well as in the family. According to article 44 of the Cuban Constitution, the state "guarantees women the same opportunities and possibilities as men, in order to achieve woman’s full participation in the development of the country." Women currently hold 35% of the parliamentary seats in the [[Cuban National Assembly]] ranking sixth of 162 countries behind [[Rwanda]], [[Sweden]], [[Norway]], [[Finland]] and [[Denmark]] on issues of female participation in political life.<ref>[http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_CUB.html The Human Development Index] United Nations Development report.</ref>
===Slavery===
Cuba is one of the worst countries in the world for human-trafficking, one of the worst countries for complying to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000<ref>http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11561082&fsrc=nwl</ref>
==Cason affair==
In [[March 2003]], the government of Cuba arrested dozens of [[journalist]]s, [[librarian]]s, and [[human rights activist]]s, and charged them with [[sedition]] due to their alleged contacts with [[James Cason]], head of the [[United States Interests Section in Havana]][http://www.hermanos.org/docs/tmh032103.html]. The accused were tried and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 28 years. In all, 75 journalists, librarians, and dissidents were given lengthy sentences averaging 17 years each. Among those sentenced were poet and journalist [[Raúl Rivero]], economist [[Martha Beatriz Roque]], and [[Christian]] activist [[Oscar Elías Biscet]]. [[Amnesty International]] described the closed-door trials as "hasty and manifestly unfair." [http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=10678]
Cuban Foreign Minister [[Felipe Pérez Roque]] denied these accusations and responded: "Cuba has the right to defend itself and apply punishment just like other nations do, like the United States punishes those who cooperate with a foreign power to inflict damage on their people and territory." [http://www.ain.cubaweb.cu/2004/marzo/25cmconferencia.htm]
During the closed-door trial, evidence was presented that the defendants had received funds from the U.S. Interests Section. Cuban officials claim that the goal of this funding was to undermine the Cuban state, disrupt internal order, and damage the Cuban economy. For his part, Cason denies offering funds to anyone in Cuba.
On [[November 29]], [[2004]], the Cuban government unexpectedly released three dissidents arrested in the March 2003 roundup: opposition leader [[Oscar Espinosa Chepe]], [[Marcelo López]], and [[Margarito Broche]]. The action followed a meeting between the Spanish ambassador and Cuba's foreign minister. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4053581.stm] In subsequent days four more dissidents were released: poet [[Raúl Rivero]], [[Osvaldo Alfonso Valdés]] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4055647.stm], journalist [[Edel José García]] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4063617.stm], and journalist [[Jorge Olivera]]. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4074191.stm] Seven other prisoners had previously been released for health reasons. Sixty-one of the 75 original inmates remain behind bars.
==Homosexuality==
:''Main article [[Gay rights in Cuba]]. See also [[Socialism and sexual orientation]]''
Sexual relations between same-sex consenting [[adults]] sixteen and over have been legal in [[Cuba]] since 1992, though [[same-sex relationship]]s are not presently recognised by the state.
Due to longstanding cultural tendencies, public antipathy towards LGBT people was traditionally high, reflecting regional norms. This has eased somewhat following cultural changes to Cuban society in the 1990s, and subsequent gradual measures undertaken by the Cuban Government.<ref>Israel, Esteban, [http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/cgi-script/csArticles/articles/000021/002197.htm "Castro's niece fights for new revolution"], ''[[Reuters]]'', 2006-07-03</ref> Educational campaigns on LGBT issues are currently implemented by the [[National Center for Sex Education in Cuba|National Center for Sex Education]] headed by [[Mariela Castro]].
In [[2003]], Carlos Sanchez from the [[International Lesbian and Gay Association]] issued a report on the status of gay people in Cuba that claimed that the Cuban government no longer offers any legal punishment for its gay citizens, that there is a greater level of tolerance among Cubans for gay and transgender people, and that the Cuban government was open to endorsing a gay rights plank at the [[United Nations]] [http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileCategory=10&ZoneID=5&FileID=26].
==United Nations Human Rights Commission==
Since 1990, The United States has presented various resolutions to the annual [[UN Human Rights Commission]] criticizing Cuba’s human rights record. The proposals and subsequent diplomatic disagreements have been described as a "nearly annual ritual".<ref name="Herald">[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/human-rights/un-vote.htm U.N. panel condemns Cuba for rights abuses] Miami Herald April 19 2001 </ref> Long term consensus between Latin American nations has not emerged.<ref name = "coha-OAS-UNHRC">[http://www.coha.org/2005/05/02/cuba-the-un-human-rights-commission-and-the-oas-race/ Cuba, the U.N. Human Rights Commission and the OAS Race] Council on Hemispheric Affairs</ref> The resolutions were passed 1990-1997, but were rejected in 1998.<ref name="Herald"/> Subsequent efforts by the U.S. have succeeded by narrow voting margins. In the Americas, some governments back the criticism, others oppose it, seeing it as a cynical manipulation of a serious human rights issue in order to promote the isolation of the island and to justify the decades-old embargo.<ref name = "coha-OAS-UNHRC"/> European Union nations have universally voted against Cuba since 1990, though requests that the resolution should contain references to the negative effects of the economic embargo have been made.<ref> [http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/human-rights/panel.htm U.N. rights panel votes to criticize Cuba] Miami Herald 2000 </ref>
==See also==
{{portalpar|Cuba|Flag of Cuba.svg}}
* [[Cubana Flight 455]]
* [[Cuban Democratic Directorate (Directorio)]]
* [[Cuban Five]]
* [[Cuban Liberty Council]]
* [[Coordination of United Revolutionary Organizations]]
* [[Humberto Fontova]]
* [[International Committee for Democracy in Cuba]]
* [[Ladies in White]]
* [[Lawton Foundation]]
* [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp]]
* [[U.S. embargo against Cuba]]
* [[Varela Project]]
* [[Women in Cuba]]
* [[Gustavo Arcos]]
* [[Luis Posada Carriles]]
* [[Martha Beatriz Roque]]
* [[Orlando Bosch]]
* [[Oscar Elías Biscet]]
* [[Oswaldo Payá]]
* [[Pedro Luis Boitel]]
* [[Raúl Rivero]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/cuba/ Human Rights Watch Report: "Cuba's Repressive Machinery"]
*[http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/cuba/document.do?id=ar&yr=2005 Amnesty International Report on Cuba (2005)]
*[http://www.cidh.org/annualrep/2006eng/Chap.4b.htm Annual Report 2006: Cuba] [[ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]]
*[http://www.galha.org/glh/213/cuba.html "Gay Rights and Wrongs in Cuba" from the ''Gay and Lesbian Humanist'']
*[http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/1033/ Censorship in Cuba] - [[International Freedom of Expression Exchange]]
*[http://www.cubanet.org/ref/dis/const_92_e.htm For constitutional rights: The Cuban Constitution]
*[http://www.cubaverdad.net Facts and links on Human rights in Cuba]
*[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/castro/sfeature/sf_views_bofill.html Excerpt from Ricardo Bofill's "Indagacion en Los Origenes del Movimiento Cubano pro Derechos Humanos" or "Inquiry into the Origins of the Cuban Human Rights Movement"]
*[http://www.asambleasociedadcivilcuba.info/Asamblea/Asamblea-en.htm The Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba]
*[http://www.oswaldopaya.org Democracy Activist Oswaldo Paya]
*[http://www.directorio.org Cuban Democratic Directorate]
*[http://www.icdcprague.org International Committee for Democracy in Cuba]
{{North America in topic|Human rights in}}
[[Category:Politics of Cuba]]
[[Category:Cuban society]]
[[Category:Cuban law]]
[[Category:Human rights by country|Cuba]]
[[Category:Fidel Castro]]
[[Category:Human rights abuses]]
[[de:Menschenrechtssituation in Kuba]]
[[it:Diritti umani a Cuba]]
[[ro:Drepturile omului în Cuba]]