29 April 2003
U.S. Outraged at
Cuba's Election to U.N. Human Rights Commission
("Cuba has worst human rights record in hemisphere," says U.S. envoy)
(500)
By Judy Aita
Washington File Staff Writer
United Nations -- Calling Cuba's re-election to the United Nations (U.N.)
Human Rights Commission an "outrage," the United States walked out of a
meeting April 29 of the U.N. Economic and Social Council.
Ambassador Sichan Siv, the U.S. representative to the Economic and Social
Council, said that "the election of Cuba ... is an outrage to which we
object in the strongest terms."
"Simply put, Cuba has the worst human rights record in this hemisphere," he
added. "Its nomination to the Commission on Human Rights symbolizes the
commission's regrettable decline in international prestige, relevance, and
authority."
The Economic and Social Council held elections April 29 for membership on
the 53-nation Commission on Human Rights. Each region presents a slate of
candidates for allotted seats on the commission. The Group of Latin American
and Caribbean countries presented a slate for the second year in a row that
included Cuba. No country in the region presented itself for Cuba's seat, so
the slate was accepted by acclamation. Others elected with Cuba were Peru,
Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala.
The United States walked out of the meeting twice -- the first time when the
voting was about to take place.
"I got up when the acclamation was going to take place because we didn't
want to join the acclamation," Siv told journalists after the meeting.
Siv then walked out again when the Cuban delegate addressed the meeting.
"We have been working ... to promote countries that have good human rights
records to be members of the commission," the U.S. ambassador said. "We
continue to do that. At the same time, we will oppose countries like Cuba
whose human rights records are just abysmal. It is outrageous. That is why
we decided to walk out this morning."
Cuba "is a country that for 40 years has not held an election," Siv
observed. "It is a country that arrests people and puts them in jail at the
whim of the dictator. That is why we were so outraged when the candidacy [of
Cuba] was endorsed this morning by the Latin American and Caribbean regional
group."
In remarks to the Economic and Social Council, the ambassador pointed out
that "while the [U.N. human rights] commission was in session this year,
with Cuba sitting as a member, the Cuban authorities rounded up 78
opposition leaders, independent journalists, and librarians, held summary
trials, and sent them to prison for terms of up to 28 years."
He concluded by citing the Castro regime's recent execution of three men
arrested for having committed a bloodless crime: hijacking a boat in order
to reach the United States. "The Cuban government also arrested three
alleged hijackers and shot them to death within a week of incarceration --
no real trial, no appeal, no justice," Siv said.
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Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) |
