On March 26 Cuba announced that the U.S. and Cuba will commence their negotiations regarding human rights on March 31 in Washington, D.C.; this was covered in a prior post.
Now we examine issues of Cuban human rights that probably will be put on the agenda for further discussions by looking at the recent speech on this subject by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. [1] Subsequent posts will look at the U.N. Human Rights Council’s most recent Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cuba and at the latest U.S. State Department report on Cuban human rights (the one issued in 2014 for 2013). Observations about these sources will be made in a later post while other subsequent posts will engage in a similar analysis about issues of U.S. human rights that are likely to be covered in the bilateral talks.
As discussed in a prior post, the U.N. Human Rights Council opened what it called its “High -Level Segment” on March 2, 2015, at its headquarters in Geneva Switzerland. One of the speakers that day was the Cuban Foreign Minister, whose speech will be excerpted below.
Cuba’s Commitment to International Human Rights. The Foreign Minister stressed Cuba’s “commitment to a genuine international cooperation based on the indivisibility of human rights, non-selectivity and non-politicization” and to “the struggle for the establishment of a more just, democratic and equitable international order that would remove the obstacles that hamper all national efforts that are made to guarantee the exercise of all human rights.”
Cuba, he asserted, maintains “a high level of cooperation and interaction with the procedures and mechanisms of the [U.N.] when it comes to universal human rights and a positive dialogue with the organs created by virtue of international treaties. It is in that spirit that we are conveying an invitation to the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the [U.N.] Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons” to visit Cuba.
“Despite its deficiencies and difficulties, Cuba has shared and will continue to share its achievements and experience with other nations, with which we have made a selfless contribution to the exercise of human rights by other peoples of the world.”
For example, under Cuba’s “cooperation project known as ‘Miracle Operation,’ 3.4 million persons from 34 countries have undergone eye surgery free of charge. Likewise, 9 million persons have already graduated from the literacy program ‘Yes, I Can,’ and 1,113,000 persons have graduated from the follow-up program ‘Yes, I Can Continue.’”
“Today, more than 51 000 Cuban health cooperation workers are offering their services in 67 countries of the world.” Cuba “will continue offering our cooperation in the struggle against the Ebola virus in Africa. More than 250 voluntary and specialized health cooperation workers of the medical brigade ‘Henry Reeve’ are taking part in this struggle in the most affected regions. Another 4,000 Cuban health cooperation workers are participating in the prevention program that is being implemented in 32 African countries.”
“On the occasion of the Seventieth Anniversary of the [U.N.], the Principles and Purposes that were enshrined in [its] Charter and supported its creation are more valid than ever. As was recently stated by Cuba’s President Raúl Castro Ruz: “We will never renounce our ideals of independence and social justice, or abandon a single one of our principles, nor cede a millimeter in the defense of our national sovereignty. We will not accept any pressure regarding our internal affairs. We have earned this sovereign right through great sacrifices and at the price of great risks.”
People’s Participation in Government.The Foreign Minister emphasized that “more than 2,000 organizations and associations of an infinite diversity contribute very actively to the economic, social and cultural life [of Cuba]. . . . The participation of the people in the Governments’ decision-making processes, . . . has been the experience of the Cuban Revolution.”
This was illustrated in 2011 by the Cuban government’s consultations with the people over the proposed economic and social program that included “the introduction of 400,000 amendments thereto and the modification of two-thirds of the original text. More recently a new Labor Code was discussed following this same procedures.”
Workers’ Rights. In Cuba “almost all workers – including those who work in small private businesses–are unionized and protected by collective agreements. There are union representatives in the Council of Ministers as well as in the ministerial and corporate organs. In 1938 [long before the Cuban Revolution], the workers’ movement in Cuba managed to found a Unitarian Workers’ Central, which today encompasses as many as 17 different unions and thousands of other grassroots organizations.”
The Foreign Minister also raised the subjects of the International Labor Organization’s Convention 87 [2] and Convention 98 [3], both of which have been ratified by Cuba.
Palestine. Cuba supports “the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to a State of their own, on the pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. The [U.N.] General Assembly should act with resolve and guarantee, without further delay, the full [U.N.] membership of Palestine.”
Venezuela. “We ratify our firmest support to the Bolivarian Revolution and the legitimate Government headed by President Nicolás Maduro Moros.” (Several posts have investigated the reactions of Venezuela, Cuba and other countries to a U.S. executive order imposing sanctions on seven Venezuelans.)
Cuba’s Negotiations with the EU and the U.S. Cuba’s current negotiations with the U.S. and the EU over human rights and other issues were noted. Rodriguez said those discussions will occur within the agreed reciprocal basis of “sovereign equality, mutual respect, non-interference in internal affairs [and] respect for the legal systems of the parties.”
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[1] This portion of the post is based upon the following: Vigezzi, Statement by Bruno Rodriguez at Human Rights Council in Geneva, Nat’l Network on Cuba (Mar. 2, 2015); U.N. Hum. Rts. Council, Human Rights Council hears from 11 dignitaries as it continues its High-Level Segment, (Mar. 2, 2015); Cuban Foreign Minister speaks at the Human Rights Council, Granma (Mar. 4, 2015). The Cuban Foreign Minister’s speech also criticized certain aspects of the human rights records of the U.S. and other unnamed industrialized countries; these comments will be examined in a later post about issues of U.S. human rights that might be added to the agenda for discussions between the two countries.
[2] ILO Convention No. 87 (Convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise [sic], 1948) has been ratified by 153 states, including Cuba and all 28 EU members. The U.S. has not so ratified and thus is not a party to this treaty although there are many federal and state laws on the subject.
[3] ILO Convention No. 98 (Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949) has been ratified by 164 states, including Cuba and all 28 EU members. The U.S. has not so ratified and thus is not a party to this treaty although there are many federal and state laws on the subject.