31 March 2003
U.S. Issues
Scathing Report of Cuba's Human Rights Record
(State Dept. criticizes Castro regime for committing serious abuses)
(610)
Washington -- The Cuban regime of Fidel Castro continues to broadly violate
the human rights of its citizens, according to a new report by the U.S.
State Department.
Cuba's record on human rights remains "poor," the Department said in its
2002 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released March 31. The
report said Cuba is a totalitarian state controlled by Castro, who exercises
complete control over all aspects of life through the Communist Party and
its affiliated mass organizations. Cuba's people are not given the right to
change their government peacefully, the report said.
The Communist Party is the only legal political entity in the country, and
there are no contested elections for the 601-member National Assembly of
People's Power (ANPP), which meets twice a year for a few days to "rubber
stamp" decisions and policies previously decided by the government.
Prisoners die in Cuban jails due to lack of medical care, said the
Department, adding that members of the security forces and prison officials
continued to beat and abuse detainees and prisoners, including human rights
activists. The Cuban government failed to prosecute or sanction adequately
members of the security forces who committed abuses, while prisoner
conditions remained harsh and life threatening.
The report said Cuban authorities routinely continued to harass, threaten,
arbitrarily arrest, detain, imprison, and defame human rights advocates and
members of independent professional associations, including journalists,
economists, doctors and lawyers, "often with the goal of coercing them into
leaving the country."
Although the Cuban constitution allows legislative proposals backed by at
least 10,000 citizens to be submitted directly to the ANPP, the government
rejected a petition known as the Varela Project, which accumulated more than
11,000 signatures calling for a national referendum on political and
economic reforms. Instead, the government mobilized the population to sign a
counter-petition reinforcing the socialist basis of the state, and the ANPP
approved this action.
Cuba's government denied political dissidents and human rights advocates due
process and subjected them to unfair trials, said the report. The government
infringed on citizens' privacy rights, as well as freedom of speech, press,
assembly, and association. Furthermore, it limited the distribution of
foreign publications and news, restricted access to the Internet, and
maintained strict censorship of news and information to the public.
The report also said violence against women, especially domestic violence,
child prostitution, and racial discrimination, remained problems in Cuba. In
addition, the government severely restricted worker rights, including the
right to form independent unions. The government also required children to
do farm work without compensation.
Cuba's government continues to actively suppress political opposition and
dissent, and maintains a "pervasive" system of surveillance of the
population through undercover agents, informers, rapid response brigades,
and neighborhood-based Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, said
the report. The government traditionally has used these committees to
mobilize citizens against dissenters, impose ideological conformity, and
root out "counter-revolutionary" behavior.
The report added that the Cuban economy performed poorly in 2002, mainly due
to inefficient policies. Government policy was officially aimed at
preventing economic disparity, but persons with access to U.S. currency
enjoyed a significantly higher standard of living than those with access
only to the Cuban peso.
During the year, the Cuban government issued a moratorium on new licenses
for small private businesses in the service sector, many of which have been
fined on unclear grounds or taxed out of existence, said the report. A
system of "tourist apartheid" continued, whereby citizens were denied access
to hotels, beaches, and resorts reserved for foreign tourists.
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) |
