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CADAL urgently calls on the member states of the United Nations’ Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC), as well as on the European Union, to intercede with the Cuban authorities and demand the immediate release of José Daniel Ferrer and Félix Navarro, along with all other innocent individuals imprisoned in the country for political reasons.
Within GRULAC, Cuba is the member state that has served the longest on the Human Rights Council—despite failing to comply with the resolution through which the UN General Assembly established the body on March 15, 2006. Indeed, Article 8 of Resolution 60/251 states that “ when electing members of the Council, Member States shall take into account the contribution of candidates to the promotion and protection of human rights,” while Article 9 adds that “members elected to the Council shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights.”
Cuba violates both provisions, as clearly evidenced in its Constitution, Criminal Code, Special Laws, and the rulings of its People’s Courts. Therefore, the democratic countries within GRULAC—which form the majority—must agree to stop supporting Cuba’s candidacy for the Council until it complies with the resolution.
Furthermore, in light of the setbacks to human rights in Cuba since the signing of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union in December 2016, the EU should move to suspend the agreement.
CADAL also calls on the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, to instruct the Delegation in Havana to apply Section 3 of the EU’s “Roadmap for Engagement with Civil Society in External Relations” of September 12, 2012. This section states that “many countries lack favourable legal and regulatory frameworks to guarantee CSOs the right to operate independently and free from unwarranted interference. In some countries governments fail to recognise the role of CSOs. As a result, CSOs often face restrictions regarding the legal and policy frameworks within which they work, attempts to discredit or criminalise them, constraints on access to funds, intimidation and even physical harassment, detention and violent attacks. In this context, the international community, the EU included, has a duty to advocate for a space to operate for both CSOs and individuals. The EU should lead by example, creating peer pressure through diplomacy and political dialogue with governments and by publicly raising human rights concerns.”
Additionally, CADAL recommends that the new EU foreign policy chief ensure that EU-Cuba bilateral relations are handled by officials from former communist countries now in the EU, as they are likely to possess deeper experience and sensitivity regarding the oppressive political regime on the island.
Finally, in order to put an end to Cuba’s systematic repression of political dissent, CADAL urges the democratic countries of GRULAC and the European Union to firmly call on Cuba’s one-party government to stop criminalizing fundamental freedoms, including the human rights enshrined in Articles 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, and 21 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
