Cuban human rights – dwkcommentaries

U.S. Congressmen Ask President Biden To Provide Sanctions Relief and Other Aid to Cuba

On November 15, a group of 18 U.S. Congressmen sent a letter to President Biden “with a deep sense of urgency to request immediate action to stabilize Cuba’s energy infrastructure and provide critical humanitarian assistance. The Cuban people are currently facing widespread blackouts and an escalating energy crisis, exacerbated by the impact of Hurricane Rafael. The situation is not only causing immense suffering for the Cuban people but also poses serious risks to U.S. national security interests. If left unaddressed, the crisis will almost certainly fuel increased migration, strain U.S. border management systems, and fully destabilize the already-strained Caribbean region.”[1]

“Since 2022, over 850,000 Cubans have sought refuge in the United States—the largest exodus in the island’s history. The ongoing collapse of essential services, particularly electricity, has further exacerbated this exodus. The latest energy crisis threatens to trigger another unprecedented wave of migration, with hundreds of thousands more Cubans likely to seek entry to the U.S.”

Therefore, their letter “respectfully urge your administration to quickly take the following actions to address this urgent crisis and safeguard U.S. interests:”

“Remove the State Sponsor of Terror Designation “

“We strongly recommend removing Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSOT) list. This will reduce barriers to oil shipments and clarify that carriers and insurers can operate legally in Cuba, facilitating access to energy and economic relief for the Cuban people.”

“Expedite Emergency Humanitarian and Technical Assistance to the Cuban People”

“The U.S. government should immediately provide humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, while deploying technical assistance and equipment to stabilize Cuba’s electrical grid. This aid should be delivered to the Cuban people without delay, and in coordination with international partners such as the European Union, FAO, WFP, and PAHO to maximize its impact.

“Issue Safe Harbor Letters to Address Overcompliance with Sanctions”

“One key barrier to increased non-government assistance to Cuba is the fear that private businesses and non-profit organizations have of running afoul of U.S. sanctions, whether or not a General License is available from Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). We strongly urge the provision of OFAC safe harbor letters to ensure that

humanitarian aid efforts to Cuba, including the provision of food, medicine, and technical assistance, fully comply with U.S. sanctions regulations and are protected from enforcement actions.”

“Suspend Sanctions Impeding Aid”

“We urge you to suspend sanctions that hinder the flow of humanitarian assistance, including restoring the EAR license exception to allow donations to Cuban health and humanitarian relief entities. These changes will enable quicker assistance from U.S. humanitarian organizations, religious groups, and private citizens to the Cuban people.”

“Facilitate Energy Infrastructure Repair and Modernization”

“The U.S. should fast-track the export of critical equipment needed to repair and upgrade Cuba’s energy grid. In addition, lifting Cuba-specific restrictions on oil and LPG exports will help prevent a total grid collapse.”

“Regardless of the Cuban government’s stance, it is imperative that the U.S. government demonstrates a willingness to aid the Cuban people directly. The Cuban government’s frequent attempts to blame the U.S. for the island’s problems should not deter us from offering the assistance necessary to alleviate suffering of the Cuban people and prevent further regional destabilization.”

“The escalating energy crisis in Cuba presents not just a humanitarian concern but a serious national security challenge for the U.S. If left unaddressed, the situation risks further destabilizing the Caribbean region, increasing migration flows, and straining U.S. border management systems, while strengthening the hand of malign actors in the Western Hemisphere. Acting swiftly to provide humanitarian and technical support will not only alleviate immediate suffering but also open avenues for broader diplomatic engagement. This engagement can extend to critical issues such as the release of political prisoners, human rights, and improved governance, building a foundation for more constructive dialogue between the two countries.”

“We understand that absent action from Congress, executive actions on Cuba are subject to reversal. That should not deter us from acting to avert further suffering and damage to United States interests. Even temporary relief can save lives and permit the Cuban people a chance to insulate themselves and their families from further vulnerability. We urge your administration to act swiftly to implement these measures and mitigate the growing crisis in Cuba while advancing U.S. interests in the region.”

The Congressmen who signed this letter were Barbara Lee, James McGovern, Gregory Meeks, Joaquin Castro, Pramila Jayapal, Ilhan Omar, Greg Casar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jesus “Chuy”” Garcia, Delia C. Ramirez, Nydia M. Velazquez, Raul M. Grijalva, Zoe Lofgren, Mark Pocan, Steve Cohen, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Jonathan L. Jackson and Jan Schakowsky.

Comments

Thanks to these Congressmen for making these suggestions to President Biden in the last weeks of his Administration. They are measure that are needed by Cuba and by the U.S., and President Biden should implement them as soon as possible. He also should ask Congress to terminate the U.S. embargo of Cuba, but that faces the obstacle of Republican (slim) control of the House of Representatives.

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[1] Press Release, Representatives Lee, McGovern, Meeks, and Castro Lead Congressional Letter to President Biden Urging Sanctions Relief for Cuba Amid Humanitarian Crisis, (Nov. 10, 2024); Press Release, US Congressmen want Biden to facilitate the repair of Cuba’s ‘energy infrastructure,’ Diario de Cuba (Nov. 20, 2024); Letter, Congressmen Barbara Lee, James McGovern, Gregroy Meeks, Joquin Castro, Pramila Jaypal, Ilhan Omar, Greg Casas, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jesus “Clay” Garcia, Delia C. Ramirez, Nydia M. Velazquez, Raul M. Grijalva, Zoe Lofgren, Mark Pocan, Steve Cohen, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Jonathan L. Jackson and Jan Schakowsky to President Biden (Nov. 15, 2024); U.S. Congressmen ask Biden to remove Cuba from terrorist list, Granma (Nov. 19, 2024).

Cuban Priest Voices Harsh Criticism of Cuban Regime

A Cuban Roman Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Camaguey, Alberto Reyes, said in a visit to the U.S. that Cuba is experiencing one of the hardest times in recent years. “It would seem, and it is my hope, that this is a terminal moment, because it is very difficult (…) Civil society in Cuba feels very vulnerable and defenseless . Every time the Cuban people have tried to do something –we already know that July 11 marked a before and after–the repression has been total, the punishments have been exemplary.” [1]

“People are afraid, and the government is afraid, because the government knows that it has lost the heart of the people. . . . ” This is a moment of pure and simple dictatorship . It is a moment in which, clearly, there is a government that is subjugating a people who do not want it.”

“The current atmosphere on the island is one of seeking an answer to ‘how am I going to leave’ the country . With the humanitarian parole, he added, the churches in Cuba “have emptied, especially of young people.”

“The government’s only interest is to stay in power. The people must find a way to survive, and if they protest and rise up, [the government] will repress them, control them and give them a little gift, a little food, to calm them down, and in this way we will put out the fires that appear.”

The non-state sector empower[s] Cubans, as they offer them means and possibilities that the Government does not provide, but the new economic measures have caused the closure of many of these small and medium-sized companies.”

There is the “institutionalized lie in Cuba. They lie to you by looking you in the eye. They lie to you on television,” as with promises of a quick improvement in the electricity service.

“Freedom is a matter of choice. Everything in this life has a price. Speaking has a price, keeping quiet has a price, demonstrating has a price (…), confronting the government has a price; playing the government’s game has a price.”

“To think that if instead of hiding or masking the truth of what we are experiencing, we decide to be clear and speak openly, we will generate an environment of civic honesty, we will prevent the impunity of those who lie, and we will all be better off. To think that if we do not give complicit answers, if we do not attend the demonstrations of revolutionary reaffirmation, nor the combative marches, nor all the meetings of predetermined responses and, on the contrary, we decide to stay at home, defying the threats from school or the workplace, we will be manifesting our will from silence, and we will all be better off.”

The priest called on people to teach their children “to express themselves from the truth of what they feel and to defend everything that is good, noble and just” in order to create “generations capable of cleaning up decades of duplicity and falsehood.“

“To think that if you belong to the judicial system and are able to defend the innocent and not condemn those who are prosecuted for exercising their rights, you will be helping to clean up the justice system and restore the rule of law that protects the common citizen, including yourself, and we will all be better off. To think that if you have a private business and it goes well, and even at the risk of ‘getting into trouble’ you take the side of the poor who claim their rights, and you do not turn a blind eye to injustice and lies, you will be helping to build a society capable of protecting itself and protecting you, and we will all be better off,” he added.

He also called on members of the military to “protect citizens who demand their rights” and not to lend themselves “to repressing those who demand change and freedom.”

“Thinking that change does not come by itself, nor can it be left to simple time, but that it happens when we help each other, and together we build our dream, the dream of a country of freedom, justice, truth and prosperity that allows everyone to be better off,” he concluded.

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[1] Father Alberto Reyes on what Cuba is experiencing: a ‘pure and hard dictatorship,’ Diario de Cuba. (Sept.23, 2024).

Cuban Expert: Cuban Human Rights Getting Worse

Julio Antonio Fernandez Estrada, a Cuban legal expert, says that the status of Cuban human rights is getting worse. “”The already known crisis in the realization of civil and political rights, which is a consequence of the type of State and the type of political system that has existed in Cuba for more than 60 years, has been joined by a gradual deterioration of economic, social and cultural rights.”[1]

“The Cuban government defended itself for decades, especially since the 1980s, that the accusations made against it were related to a liberal or bourgeois interpretation of human rights, which apparently privileged civil and political rights over economic, social and cultural rights, which are those that Cuba defends as essential.”

“The argument was that we were living in a situation of a besieged city, which became a kind of political doctrine that justified the fact that there were reforms, changes and democratic adjustments within the country that the Cuban government could not undertake. That is an argument that has gradually stopped being used, and what has been said is that there is a Cuban socialist project and a Cuban democratic model, and that this is enough to have an alternative.”

“The crisis of civil and political rights in Cuba is evident in the limitations on freedom of speech, the press and association, as well as violations of religious freedom and the denial of the right to strike and to freely form unions. But the crisis is more serious in the constant repression against those who dissent and, ‘all this creates a scenario of limitations on rights, headed by the impossibility of creating and registering a political organization other than the Communist Party. This creates an evident scenario of political discrimination in the country, and is accompanied by persecution and censorship of political activism.’”

“In recent years, for quite a few years now, there has been a clear deterioration in the indicators of socioeconomic development in Cuba. There is a crisis in housing, transportation, garbage collection, the whole issue of sanitation, education, public health, with limitations not only in the quality of services, but also in access to services and important medicines.”

“We can no longer say that this is a bad scenario only for the development of civil and political rights, but also for all human rights. The most serious thing of all is that there is no sign of the Cuban government assuming responsibility for the problem, which only justifies itself and blames all responsibility on the dispute with the US, on the economic and cultural war that is being waged against the country and nothing else, without making a move.”

“The Cuban government ‘is a desperate government, looking for political, economic, financial, and commercial support, because it is experiencing a terrible crisis. Obviously, all of this has worsened considerably since the events of July 2021 , when it had to assume something that it had not had the need to assume before, which was the direct, massive repression of thousands of people, who demonstrated peacefully in most cases.’”

“At the same time, it was a very surgical thing done by the government, because it imprisoned around 1,000 people, which demonstrates the capacity of the Cuban repressive organs to dominate and resolve situations without having to be so overwhelming, and the use of all the means at the disposal of totalitarianism, of the control mechanisms that allow hundreds of people to be mobilized for repression , persecution, censorship, harassment, siege, as they continue to do, including another violation of human rights in Cuba, which is cutting off access to mass internet.”

“Cuban civil society, which is growing in tandem with emigration and the slow agony of the Revolution becoming deeper and more irreversible, is, ‘an enormous tidal wave of people from all over the world. I think that they do not yet have the level of organization and unity that we need, but they are working to show the world the situation of human rights in Cuba and also to condemn and denounce the humanitarian crisis that is taking place in the country, because it is a crisis that puts the Cuban nation at risk, politically and culturally speaking.’”

Conclusion

On July 23, 24 and 25, Fernandez Estrada, a Cuban and former professor at the University of Havana and now Visiting Scholar at the Harvard University’s David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, will expand on all of these points at a virtual seminat on human rights in Cuba that is organized by the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America.[2]

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[1] Santana, Julio Antonio Fernandez Estrada: ‘It is a crisis that puts the Cuban nation at risk, politicallly and culturally speaking, Diario de Cuba (July 18, 2024)

[2] Julio Antonio Fernandez, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (Harvard University).

U.S. State Department Publishes Reviewed and Updated Integrated Country Strategy for Cuba

On May 10, 2024, the U.S. State Department published a Reviewed and Updated Integrated Country Strategy for Cuba (and other countries in the world). For Cuba It listed the following Chief of Mission Priorities: (1) Ensuring Consistent American Citizen Services; (2) Supporting Human Rights; (3) Encouraging an Empowered, Innovative, and Inclusive Cuban Society; (4) Protecting the Security of the United States and its Citizens; and (5) Building a Management Platform to Best Support U.S. goals and Future Mission Growth.[1]

Supporting Human Rights (Cuba)

“A generational transition to a post-Cuban Revolution leadership has failed to create significant changes: the Cuban government continues to use repressive measures, including incarceration, coercive economic policies, and misinformation to suppress the Cuban peoples’ freedoms. Approximately 1,000 political prisoners remain unjustly imprisoned in Cuba. Cuban authorities regularly harass, imprison, or force into exile those who express dissenting opinions.”

“In an environment where the state has criminalized dissent, the embassy continuously seeks to advance the cause of human rights in Cuba and hold the Cuban government accountable for its dismal human rights record. The Mission engages regularly with human rights activists, dissidents, and members of civil society, and we will continue to support independent media, access to information, and capacity building for independent civil society organizations. Additionally. the Embassy regularly presses the Cuban government for the release of political prisoners and works with the press and nongovernmental organizations to shed light on the lack of fundamental freedoms in Cuba.”

Encouraging an Empowered, Innovative, and Inclusive Cuban Society

“Cuba is experiencing the worst economic crisis in its history. Food scarcity, electricity and water shortages, and inflation make life difficult for Cubans. Incremental reforms of Cuba’s centrally planned economy – including the legal recognition of micro, small, and medium enterprises – have been insufficient to align Cuba’s economic needs with the realities of doing business in a global economy. The Embassy will continue to seek new ways to engage Cuba’s independent economic actors, foster Cuba’s entrepreneurial eco-system, while expanding outreach to improve the economic outlook for Afro- Cubans, women, and other historically disadvantaged groups.”

Reactions

These two Chief of Mission Priorities are worthy of support. It, however, was surprising at first glance that there was no mention of the problems created for Cuba by the U.S. embargo and listing Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. But those are U.S. actions in Washington, D.C. by the President, Congress and State Department; they are not actions for the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.

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[1] State Dep’t, Integrated Country Strategies, Reviewed and Updated (May 10, 2024). It, therefore, supersedes the Department’s Integrated Country Strategy for Cuba (and other countries in the world) that was undated but released in February 2024 and that was discussed in a prior post, U.S. State Department’s Integrated Country Strategy for Cuba, dwkcommentaries.com (Feb. 16, 2024).

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights: Cuba’s Abuse of Power Goes Against the Rule of Law

In its April 25^th annual report on international human rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asserted that Cuba is in “serious violation of the fundamental elements and institutions of representative democracy, among them, an abusive exercise of power that contradicts the rule of law in the face of the systematic infringement of the independence of the Judiciary.”[1]

The lack of independence and the abuse of power, which hinder the exercise of human rights by Cubans, are based on the “continuity of a single-party political model; the concentration of faculties and powers for the conduct of public affairs; and the subordination of the administration of justice to political power.”

“Although the Cuban Electoral Law allows the free political participation of citizens,” in practice “the Communist Party continues to regulate, control and direct the electoral processes in the country.”

“The limitations on the exercise of political participation, derived from the single-party system and the monopoly of power in a single political group, result in the emptying of the fundamental essence (minimum content) of political rights.”

Although Article 150 of the 2019 Constitution establishes that “magistrates and judges, in their function of administering justice, are independent and owe obedience only to the law,” in practice, this independence is not respected, as demonstrated by testimonies from former members of the Cuban Judicial System.

In 2023, the IACHR received “”numerous complaints of massive violations of freedom, security and personal integrity; protection against arbitrary detention; the inviolability of the home, and the freedom of movement and transportation of Cuban people.”

“The IACHR also expressed concern about Cuba’s high incarceration rate — which has the second-highest prison population in the world , as confirmed in January by World Prison Brief (WPB)—as well as the deplorable detention conditions that characterize Cuban prisons. and the use of torture and ill-treatment practices against prisoners.”

Similar conclusions were made by the V-Dem Institute at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg, which classified Cuba as a “closed autocracy.”

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[1] IACHR Annual Report 2023 highlights challenges in human rights and democratic institutions (April 25, 2024); Abuse of power, intimidation, high incarceration rate: Chapter on Cuba of the IACHR annual report, Diario de Cuba (April 26, 2024).

Once Again, U.N. General Assembly Condemns U.S. Embargo of Cuba

On November 2, 2023, the U.N. General Assembly again condemned for the 31^st time, the U.S. embargo of Cuba. This time the vote was 187-2 with one abstention. The negative votes were cast by the U.S. and Israel; the abstention by Ukraine. Three other countries did not vote on the resolution: Somalia, Venezuela and Moldova.[1]

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Paul Flambee, after the vote, told the Assembly that the United States “stands resolutely with the Cuban people. We strongly support their pursuit of a future with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.” He added the following:

“Approximately 1,000 political prisoners remain behind bars in Cuba – more than at any point in Cuba’s recent history. Nearly 700 of those detentions owe to the historic July 11, 2021, protests during which members of civil society including human rights defenders, as well as minors of age, exercise their freedom of expression and right of peaceful assembly. We share the Cuban people’s dream of democracy in Cuba and join international partners in calling for the Cuban government to immediately release all those unjustly detained.”
“Despite Cuba’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council, the Cuban government has delayed responding to requests to send independent experts to Cuba, who would help advance respect for human rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of religion, or belief, and the freedom to assemble peacefully. Some of these requests have remained pending for 10 years.”
“Sanctions are one set of tools in our broader effort toward Cuba to advance democracy and promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba.”
“We recognize the challenges the Cuban people face. That is why U.S. sanctions include exemptions and authorizations relating to the exports of food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods to Cuba.” In fact, the “United States remains a significant source of humanitarian goods to the Cuban people and one of Cuba’s principal trading partners. In 2002* alone, U.S. companies exported over $295 million worth of agricultural goods to Cuba, including food, to help meet the needs of the Cuban people.”

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[1] Lederer. UN votes overwhelmingly to condemn US economic embargo on Cuba for 31^st year and urge its lifting, Wash. Post (Oct. 2, 2023); The UN condemns the US embargo against Havana with 187 votes in favor, Diario de Cuba (Oct. 2, 2023); Explanation of Vote After the Vote on a UN General Assembly Resolution on the Cuba Embargo, U.S. Mission to the U.N. (Nov. 2, 2023). This blog has reported on some of the prior approvals of such resolutions by the General Assembly. (See, e.g., U.N. General Assembly Again Condemns U.S. Embargo (Blockade) of Cuba, dwkcommentaroes.com (Nov, 8, 2002).)

Change of charge d’affaires of U.S. Embassy in Cuba

On August 1, there was a change of the charge d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Havana. Leaving that position was Mara Tekach, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. Her successor is Timothy Zuñiga-Brown, another career foreign service officer, who will have to deal with a reduced embassy staff and unsolved issues, such as the suspension of visa processing and the family reunification program. [1]

Here is an account of some of Tekach’s recent comments.[2]

On her last day in this position, she delivered to the Cuban government a diplomatic note complaining about the state of human rights on the island. She said Cuba did not deserve a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland; instead it deserved censuring by that body. (On August 5, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo made the same plea, saying, “It’s outrageous that the Human Rights Council would offer to seat Cuba, a brutal dictatorship that traffic its own doctors under the guise of humanitarian missions. No country should vote Cuba onto the Council.”[3])

“While its leaders enjoy expensive yachts and watches, the Cuban people queue for hours to try to get food and medicine. Any country in the world can send supplies to the island, but they never reach the people,”

“The regime needs to democratize,” Tekach said. It is “fomenting destabilization abroad” and has established a “parasitic relationship built around all kinds of nefarious arrangements” with the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela. “These things have to end.”

During her time in Havana, she was a vocal critic of the Cuban government. She visited political prisoners and dissidents and met with activists around the island. Tekach said “it was important to raise awareness on the island of the repression. And I was very focused on bringing this to the attention of the international community.” I was convinced “that the regime would not tolerate a single free thought among its people.”

Under her leadership, the embassy’s social media accounts engaged in campaigns to criticize the Cuban government’s medical missions and the country’s human-rights record. The government responded by showing on television images of her meeting with dissidents and accusing her of “recruiting mercenaries.”

For example, on July 4, 2020, she gave a speech at the Embassy dedicated to “all of the independent voices of Cuba – past and present. . . . May they never be silenced. May they continue to be heard. . . . Cuba’s countless independent voices dream and strive for a better future. You shall not be forgotten. We will continue to amplify your voices.”

And on July 21, 2020, she issued a statement on the Embassy’s website about Cuban medical missions that focused on the claims that the Cuban medical personnel are not paid fair compensation for their services on these missions. [2]

Tekach said the disagreements never stopped her from communicating with Cuban officials and working on issues like the repatriation flights organized after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted travel. But she noted that “it was not a friendly relationship.”

Tekach will remain influential in Cuban policy as the new coordinator of the State Department’s Office of Cuban Affairs.

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[1] Torres, ‘It wasn’t a friendly relationship.’ Former top diplomat in Havana talks about U.S.-Cuba relations, Miami Herald (Aug. 5, 2020); ‘Do not be fooled by the Cuban regime,’ asks Mara Tekach when leaving office, Diario de Cuba (Aug. 7, 2020).

[2] U.S. Embassy (Cuba), Remarks by U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Mara Tekach (July 4, 2020); U.S. Embassy (Cuba), Statement from Chargé d’Affaires Mara Tekach The Truth about Cuban Medical Missions (July 21, 2020).

[3] State Dep’t, Secretary Michael R. Pompeo At a Press Availability (Aug. 5, 2020); Washington urges UN countries to deny Havana a seat on the Human rights Council, Diario de Cuba (Aug. 6, 2020).

U.S. State Department Announces Funding Opportunities for Cuba Proposals

On April 17, the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announced it was accepting applications for “proposals that align with the U.S. government policy to promote human rights in Cuba as stated in the June 16, 2017 National Security Presidential Memorandum—entitled “Strengthening the Policy of the United States Toward Cuba” —as well as the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act and other relevant legislation.” [1]

Requirements for Applicants

Eligible applicants are “U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernment organizations (NGO) and public international organizations; private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses. DRL’s preference is to work with non-profit entities; however, there may be some occasions when a for-profit entity is best suited. In addition, applicants must have “proven capacity to implement foreign assistance programs to protect and promote internationally recognized human rights in Cuba” and the “existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with thematic or in-country partners, entities, and relevant stakeholders, including private sector partners and NGOs, and have demonstrable experience in administering successful and preferably similar projects. “

The Department anticipates making three to five awards with a “Funding Floor” of $500,000 and “Ceiling” of $2,000,000.

The Department’s Context for Proposals

“For more than sixty years, the Cuban regime has denied its citizens many of the human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Political participation, freedom of association and peaceful assembly are restricted through tightly controlled, undemocratic elections and by withholding legal status from independent civil society organizations, labor unions, and diverse political parties or movements. The free flow of information and freedom of expression are suppressed by blocking the Cuban peoples’ access to media outlets, and by censoring independent journalists, artists, and other individuals with alternative views. As connectivity slowly increases, the government is also expanding measures to surveil and harass citizens online to further inhibit the free flow of information and to prevent activists from connecting with broader audiences in and outside Cuba.”

“The Cuban government also abuses freedom of religion or belief by restricting the ability of faith communities to congregate and worship outside of the state-sanctioned Council of Churches. Cuban state security regularly threatens, harasses, arbitrarily arrests, detains, and restricts the movement of human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists on-island. Human rights organizations report more than 100 prisoners of conscience in Cuban prisons, most sentenced under fabricated charges like “contempt” of Cuban authorities or “pre-criminal social dangerousness.” This repression is financed in large part by the labor exploitation of medical workers and other service providers, who receive only a fraction of the salaries paid by third countries for their services and often face threats from their Cuban government handlers to discourage them from absconding. Despite these systemic efforts by the regime to maintain strict control over all facets of cultural, political and socio-economic life in Cuba, independent civic groups, journalists, artists, entrepreneurs, and others are increasingly advocating for more inclusive economic and political institutions.”

“DRL programs in Cuba aim to strengthen the capabilities of on-island, independent civil society to advance the above-mentioned rights and interests of all individuals in Cuba, and to overcome the limitations imposed by the Cuban government on the exercise of these civil and political rights. DRL also strives to ensure its projects advance principles of non-discrimination with respect to race, religion, gender, disability, and other individual characteristics.”

“DRL seeks proposals that support Cuban-led initiatives that promote the human rights of all in Cuba—particularly the freedoms of peaceful assembly, association, expression, political participation and religion and belief—and strengthen and expand the reach of those initiatives in Cuba by focusing on issues that resonate with Cuban citizens. Competitive proposals may also support the documentation of human rights abuses, including for use in domestic and international advocacy, and increase the free flow of information to, from, and within Cuba. Proposals should offer a specific vision for contributing to change while acknowledging and developing contingencies for challenges to program implementation. Proposals should demonstrate consultative dialogue with local Cuban partners and present sound strategies to develop organizational capacity and foster collaboration among diverse segments of Cuba’s independent civil society. Proposals should also include concrete initiatives that address recent developments on the island and have the potential to generate short-term impacts while leading to long-term sustainable change. (Emphasis added.)

“DRL prefers innovative approaches rather than projects that simply duplicate or add to ongoing efforts by other entities. This does not exclude projects that clearly build on existing successful projects in a new way. DRL encourages applicants to foster collaborative partnerships with each other and submit a combined proposal in which one organization is designated as the lead applicant. The applicant should also demonstrate experience programming effectively within Cuba and/or within other closed society environments. Most importantly, the applicant should clearly demonstrate that the proposed activities emanate directly from needs expressed by Cuban civil society organizations.”

“Successful applications in the past have proposed activities reflective of the skills, knowledge, and linguistic capabilities of target beneficiaries. Successful applications have also considered practical limitations of groups’ and individuals’ ability to participate in project activities and strive to ensure that beneficiary organizations will continue to function while certain members are participating in off-island activities.” (Emphases added.)

DRL also has a long list of activities that “typically are NOT considered: “The provision of humanitarian assistance; English language instruction; Development of high-tech computer or communications software and/or hardware; Purely academic research, exchanges, or fellowships; External exchanges or fellowships lasting longer than six weeks; Off-island activities that are not clearly linked to in-country initiatives and impact or are not necessary for security concerns; Theoretical explorations of human rights or democracy issues, including projects aimed primarily at research and evaluation for publication that do not incorporate training or capacity-building for local civil society; Micro-loans or similar small business development initiatives; Activities that go beyond an organization’s demonstrated competence, or fail to provide clear evidence that activities will achieve the stated impact; Initiatives directed towards a diaspora community rather than current residents of Cuba; [and] Activities that are a duplication of other ongoing USG-funded projects in Cuba.”

Finally there will be no funding of “programs . . . that support the Cuban government, including Cuban government institutions, individuals employed by those institutions, or organizations controlled by government institutions.”

Conclusion

This is yet another of the weird and misguided U.S. public announcements of U.S. government-financed unilateral programs in Cuba without the cooperation of the Cuban government and indeed with the latter’s opposition and hence the need for these programs to be under-cover. The Department, therefore, highlights the need for applications to consider “contingencies for challenges to program implementation” and the “practical limitations of groups’ and individuals’ ability to participate in project activities.” In short, this is a fatally flawed idea.

How would the U.S. government react if Russia were to publicly announce that it was soliciting proposals for under-cover hacking of the U.S. election of 2020?

This proposal also continues to embrace the flawed claims that Cuba “abuses freedom of religion or belief” and that Cuba’s foreign medical mission program constitutes illegal forced labor, as discussed in many previous posts to this blog.[2] This proposal also continues to fail to understand why a small, poor nation of 11 people has rational fears of its much larger and more powerful neighbor to the north with a long history of hostility towards the island.

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[1] State Dep’t, Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO): DRL FY19: Cuba Proposals (April 17, 2020).

[2] See these sections (“Cuban Human rights,” “U.S. Democracy Promotion in Cuba” and “Cuban Medical Personnel & U.S.”) in List of Posts to dwkcommentaries—Topical: CUBA.

Proposed U.N. Human Rights Council Resolution on Cuban Human Rights

An international coalition of 75 human rights organizations has asked the U.N. Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution on Cuban human rights at its meeting in Geneva, Switzerland on June 24 to July 12. [1]

Here are the terms of action in that proposed resolution:[2]

“1. Strongly condemns the grave human rights violations and abuses committed by the Government of Cuba, including the denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and of the rights to freedom of opinion, expression and association, both online and offline; the widespread use of arbitrary arrest and detention, including preemptive detention, and other forms of harassment and intimidation as tools to suppress political dissent; use of violence by Government forces to threaten and intimidate arrestees and detainees; and widespread violations of the rights to due process and to a trial before a fair, independent and impartial tribunal; “

“2. Calls upon Cuba to fully grant its citizens internationally recognized civil, political, and economic rights and freedoms, including freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and free access to information;”

“3. Demands that Cuba, including its judicial and security branches, create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment in which an independent, diverse, and pluralistic civil society can operate free from undue hindrance and insecurity;”

“ 4. Urges Cuba to end widespread and serious restrictions, in law and in practice, on the right to freedom of expression, opinion, associations and peaceful assembly, both online and offline, including by ending the harassment, intimidation and persecution of political opponents, human rights defenders, women’s and minority rights activists, labour leaders, students’ rights activists, journalists, bloggers, social media users, social media page administrators, media workers, religious leaders and lawyers;”

“5. Strongly urges Cuba to release persons arbitrarily detained for the legitimate exercise of their human rights, to consider rescinding unduly harsh sentences for exercising such fundamental freedoms and to end reprisals against individuals, including for cooperating with the United Nations human rights mechanisms;”

“ 6. Strongly condemns the lack of free, fair and transparent democratic elections in Cuba, and in particular the constitutional referendum of 24 February 2019, which was marked by fraud, lack of transparency and violence against the Government’s political opponents;”

“7. Determines that the new constitution has no legitimacy, and that members of the National Assembly, President Miguel Días-Canel and Communist Party leader Raul Castro lack any legitimacy, given that they were not elected by the people of Cuba in free, fair and multiparty elections;”

“8. Calls upon Cuba to launch a comprehensive accountability process in response to all cases of serious human rights violations, including those involving the Cuban judiciary and security branches, and calls upon the Government of Cuba to end impunity for such violations;”

“9. Calls upon the Government to cooperate with the Office of the High Commissioner, the mechanisms of the Human Rights Council and the relevant treaty bodies, as well as the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, including by facilitating visits, granting unfettered access throughout the country, including to detention facilities, and preventing and refraining from all acts of intimidation or reprisal, and to positively consider the recommendations made in their reports;”

“10. Decides to appoint a Special Rapporteur to monitor developments and make recommendations on the situation of human rights in Cuba for a period of one year, who will submit a report to the Human Rights Council at its forty-third session;”

“11. Calls upon the Government of Cuba to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur, to permit access to visit the country and to provide the information necessary for the fulfilment of the mandate;”

“12. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to provide the Special Rapporteur with the assistance and resources necessary to fulfil the mandate;”

“13. Requests the High Commissioner to provide an oral update on the situation of human rights in Cuba to the Council at its forty-second session, and to submit a follow-up report to the Council and to hold an Interactive Dialogue on the situation of human rights in Cuba at its forty-third session;”

“14. Decides to remain seized of the matter.”

Conclusion

Now we wait to see if this proposed resolution is put to a vote by the Council and the results of any such vote.

In the meantime, Freedom House, which describes itself as “an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world,” recently released its 2019 annual report about 195 countries concluding that 86 were “FREE,” 59 “PARTLY FREE” and 50, including Cuba, as “NOT FREE.”

This was its Overview for Cuba: “Cuba is a one-party communist state that outlaws political pluralism, suppresses dissent, and severely restricts basic civil liberties. The government continues to dominate the economy despite recent reforms that permit some private-sector activity. The regime’s undemocratic character has not changed despite new leadership in 2018 and a process of diplomatic “normalization” with Washington, which has stalled in recent years.” [3]

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[1] The UN Human Rights Council could discuss a resolution on Cuba, Diario de Cuba (June 13, 2019); Proposed Draft Resolution for U.N. Hum. Rts. Council, Situation of Human Rights in Cuba.

[2] Footnotes to the operative paragraphs of the proposed resolution state that they are based upon various sources, including recommendations by European Union member states at Cuba’ Universal Periodic Review by the Council in July 2018. Previous blog posts have discussed other Council proceedings regarding Cuba. See the “Cuban Human Rights” section of List of Posts to dwkcommentaires—Topical: CUBA.

[3] Freedom House, Democracy in Retreat: Freedom in the World 2019; Freedom House: Freedom in the World 2019.

Additional State Department Briefing on Helms-Burton Changes

A prior post discussed the changes in U.S. implementation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act that were announced on April 17 by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and discussed by an Assistant Secretary of State. That same day an unidentified senior official of the Department held a briefing for journalists, apparently at the U.S. Embassy in Havana. Here are highlights of that briefing.[1]

General Comments on Helms-Burton Act

“[U]nder Title III, Congress gave U.S. nationals with a claim to confiscated property in Cuba the right to file a lawsuit against the people or companies who were trafficking in that property. But for more than 22 years, U.S. Presidents or Secretaries of State have suspended American’s rights under Title III which Congress authorized when both necessary to U.S. national interests and necessary to expedite a transition to democracy in Cuba.”

“Now our decision on Title III is fundamentally related to the actions of the Cuban regime. After suspending Title III for more than 22 years in a row we still have not seen Cuba transition to democracy. In fact the opposite is true. Cuba shows no sign that it will achieve democracy in the near future as the repressive political situation in Cuba has persisted. And even under a new leader in Cuba, nothing has fundamentally changed. The recent illegitimate constitutional referendum on February 24^th simply entrenched the one-party rule in Cuba, and of course the human rights situation in Cuba remains abysmal.”

“But not only has the situation in Cuba worsened, Cuba also actively undermines democracy in the region as a whole. We’ve seen it export dictatorship, export torture, export arbitrary detentions, and export the harassment and intimidation of dissidents and opposition factors. And in all of these actions Cuba continues to prop up the former Maduro regime which denies Venezuelans their right to self-determination.”

“So under the Trump administration U.S. policy towards Cuba will reflect reality. Twenty-two years of suspending Title III has failed to advance the goal set forth by the legislation in the first place. Secretary Pompeo’s decision today recognizes the truth of that failure and enacts Congress’ common sense policy to starve the Cuban regime of the wealth it needs to hold onto power while simultaneously supporting the people of Cuba.”

“So ending the suspension of Title III sends a strong signal against trafficking in these confiscated properties as well as opens a path for U.S. claimants whose property was confiscated by the Cuban regime to seek compensation.”

“[S]tarting with NSPM5 [National Security Presidential Memorandum], this administration has made clear its intent on holding the Cuban regime accountable for repression on the island and maligned activity overseas, while at the same time supporting the Cuban people. And this administration will not allow those trafficking in confiscated property off the hook for their complicity in the regime’s malign behavior.”

“The purpose of the legislation as it was originally passed was to ensure that there was justice for those who had their property illegally confiscated by the Cuban regime. So of course any European company, any American company, any company around the world that traffics in property that was confiscated by the regime does have the possibility of being hit by this legislation.”

“So I wouldn’t be comfortable giving an assessment on how many companies that applies to, but the LIBERTAD Act also does include certain conditions and requirements to bring an action under Title III. So in that instance we advise potential plaintiffs to consult with legal counsel.”

Impact of U.S. Changes on Europe

“{O]ou relationship with our partners in Europe is very critical to this administration. We’ve consulted with them numerous times. We’ve taken into account their considerations and their concerns. . . . we all agree on the broader strategy to promote democracy and human rights in Cuba. There is some disagreement on the tactics to get there.”

“[W]hether the Europeans would be taking this to the World Trade Organization, I would just defer to them on their response and what their actions will be, and just simply reiterate that we here are implementing the laws passed by Congress.”

“With this . . . implementation of this legislation we are not targeting any specific countries or specific companies. The Secretary has made very clear that this is a decision not to waive, that has no exceptions. So there is no direct targeting reflected here.”

“And in terms of the broader message that we’re trying to communicate writ large, it is the administration’s continued focus on holding the Cuban regime accountable for human rights abuses, and again, simultaneously supporting the people of Cuba in their fight for democracy. [No response to question about impact on Russia.]

“[T[his administration is very committed and clear-eyed in its focus on bringing human rights to Cuba. This decision is part of a long trajectory that started with NSPM5 and continues with the Cuba restricted list with this decision. I think you will continue to see decisions and announcements from this administration up to and until a moment when we have democracy in Cuba.” [No response to question about possible re-designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.]

Cuba and Venezuela

“We have already begun to undertake a number of actions when it comes to Cuba’s role in Venezuela. As mentioned, this is based [on] . . . the Cuban regime’s activities, both inside Cuba as well as its actions inside Venezuela.”

So we have been very clear on our intent to ratchet up that pressure. We’ve also been clear that we’re monitoring the impact, the recent suspensions had on bringing about meaningful reform in Cuba. And we have seen none of those things”

“{T]his is administration has already come out with a number of sanctions and designations specifically related to Cuba’s, the relationship between Cuba and Venezuela, so that again is an indication that we are willing to ratchet up the pressure with respect to Cuba’s foreign intervention in that country.”{

We would agree, there definitely is military intervention in Venezuela. It’s not on the part of President Juan Guaido or the United States. It is uniquely on the part of former regime leader Nicolas Maduro, the Cubans, the Russians, and the Iranians. It is something that we do not accept. The Lima Group recently announced that they do not accept this intervention. It is against all of the principles of non-intervention that are held so dear to the people of the Western Hemisphere. So we absolutely agree with that assertion.”

“We have no tolerance or patience for the recent landing of Russian military personnel inside Venezuela. We have no tolerance or patience for the way the Cuban regime treats the people of Venezuela, how it props up the Maduro regime, how it provides repression training and tactics to Sebin and others. So accordingly we are and will continue to take action.”

“We know that there are Cuban military and intelligence services present in Venezuela. It is widely known both inside and outside of Venezuela that these officers are deeply entrenched in the Venezuela state. They are the ones providing physical protection and other support directly to Maduro and to the inner circle. And Maduro himself has made no secret of his partnership with the Cuban armed forces’

In October 2018 Maduro celebrated the deployment of Cuban Special Forces units which were called the Black Wasps, to the Venezuelan-Colombia border for provocative military exercises, and we’ve seen publicly the provocative actions undertaken by the Russians in recent weeks as well.”

In terms of the next steps that we can do, . . . on April 12^th the United States sanctioned four companies for operating in the oil sector of the Venezuelan economy and identified nine vessels as blocked properties pursuant to an Executive Order. Those actions were themselves a follow-on to previous designations and identifications announced earlier in the month which targeted entities and vessels known to be involved in the transportation of crude oil from Venezuela to Cuba.”

All “of these actions are aligned with our broader Venezuela strategy which seeks to hinder the former Maduro regime’s ability to line its pockets with the profits from natural resources that properly belong to the people of Venezuela but that Maduro himself steals. And it’s also very consistent with our policy approach when it comes to Cuba, which is making sure that we are again holding the regime accountable for its abuses, both inside the country as well as its abuses outside the country.”

Potential Claims for Expropriated Cuban Property

The U.S. “ Foreign Claims Settlement Commission has certified nearly $2 billion worth of claims. That doesn’t include possible interest. The United States did an assessment, . . .in 1996, where we saw that there were over 6,000 certified claims. However, . . . [today’s] determination is not specifically focused only on certified claims . . . [and] there could be as many as 200,000 certified claims [and] uncertified claims. That’s why we can’t give a concrete assessment of exactly how many companies or how much money this would entail. However it’s possible that it could be in the tens of billions of dollars.”

“Title IV [of the Helms-Burton Act] was never suspended, and what I can say is that we are going to be ramping up investigations in that space as well.”

Conclusion

Exceedingly important facts are ignored by the U.S. cancelling further waiver of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, by the U.S. current discussion of the claims by U.S. nationals for Cuba’s expropriation of their property on the island, by the above comments by a State Department official as well as Secretary Pompeo’s April 17 announcement of the changes regarding the Act and by the subsequent briefing by Assistant Secretary Breier, as set forth in a prior post.

First, Cuba has consistently recognized that it has an obligation under international law to pay fair compensation for all property that was expropriated in the early years of the Cuba Revolutionary Government. [2]

Second, Cuba has negotiated and paid such expropriation claims by claimants from other countries. [2]

Third, during the Obama Administration in 2015-2016 held bilateral meetings with Cuba in Washington, D.C. and Havana on many issues that had accumulated during the 50-plus years of U.S.-Cuba estrangement. One such subject was compensation for U.S. claimants for expropriated property. However, there was no resulting agreement on this and many other subjects. I suspect this was due to the complexity of these many issues, potential U.S. political difficulties in approving any such settlement and Cuba’s lack of money to pay such U.S. claims. [2]

Fourth, as a result, this blog has proposed, in an earlier post, that the U.S. and Cuba should agree to an international arbitration over this and other U.S. and Cuba damage claims. (Remember every Fall at the U.N. General Assembly Cuba alleges large amounts of damages from the U.S. embargo when the Assembly overwhelmingly approves Cuba’s resolution condemning that U.S. embargo and this Cuba claim would also be part of the arbitration.) This is a peaceful, responsible way to settle these claims, and frequently in U.S. litigation over large, competing claims, settlements frequently occur after the parties become further educated about the merits and risks of such claims.

The current U.S. bluster over the Helms-Burton Act totally fails to recognize this solution to the issue of compensation of U.S. nationals for expropriation of their property in Cuba.

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[1] U.S. Embassy in Cuba, Telephonic Press Briefing with Senior State Department Official on the U.S. Policy Towards Cuba (April 17, 2019).

[2] See posts listed in the “U.S. (Obama) & Cuba (Normalization), 2015” and “U.S. (Obama) & Cuba (Normalization), 2016” sections of List of Posts to dwkcommentaries–Topical: CUBA.