I wish to thank all parliamentarians for having invited me here to share with you my knowledge and views on the state of human rights in Cuba. I have prepared a submission entitled "The State of Human Rights in Cuba: Context and Perspectives". To stay within the time allotted, I will summarize my position and later, share with you a few of my recommendations to the Government of Canada. These recommendations are being put forward to the Subcommittee of International Human Rights as part of its current study.
Let me put things in context for you. First of all, it's important to understand that two major factors have influenced the evolution of human rights in Cuba. The first is economic globalization, which also impacts to some degree the protection and enjoyment of human rights. The second factor is regional in nature, namely U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba which is characterized by wide-ranging economic sanctions and increased intervention in the country's domestic affairs.
The evolution of this conflict has had a decisive impact on the development of State policies aimed at structuring and ensuring the protection of human rights in Cuba. Because of the incessant and excessive politicization of this issue, a universal principle, the primacy of which need not be demonstrated, has sometimes been shunted aside. I'm referring here to the principle that all human rights are indivisible, universal and interdependent.
This principle holds that civil and political rights do not take precedence over economic, social and cultural rights. Furthermore, certain rights must not be placed above others. The human rights situation in Cuba must be examined from a broad perspective. Specifically, it's important to consider how human rights are enjoyed overall, and not simply to focus on certain rights at the expense of others.
Upholding human rights is a major challenge faced by all countries that make up the international community. To date, no State has succeeded in fully honouring its international obligations as set out in international human rights conventions.
Despite strong international consensus on the issue of unconditional protection of peace and security, the conflict drags on. Each week, 2,200 hours of radio programming funded by the U.S. government is broadcast to Cuba. I mention this because radio programming is at the source of problems relating to the violation of the civil and political rights of Cubans, who welcome these broadcasts. The Cuban government, on the other hand, views such programs as illegal and subversive.
Consequently, the Cuban government has developed a defensive strategy to break free of the targeted media hold of the neighbouring superpower. In addition to scrambling radio and telecommunications signals, Cuban authorities have amended some of their laws. Cubans who take up the call to sow the seeds of political unrest can now be punished.
The adoption by the Cuban government of Bill 88, an Act to protect the independence and economy of Cuba, is another example of a defensive strategic move. Among other things, the legislation provides for lengthy prison sentences to be handed to State opponents. This strategy to defend Cuba's sovereignty clashes with the actions of Cuban citizens who, in exercising their civil and political rights, have become involved in political organizations opposed to the Castro regime which are either funded and backed by the U.S. government or by American organizations. Therefore, any serious analysis of the human rights situation must be done while bearing in mind the ongoing bilateral conflict characterized by the United States' economic and political interventionism.
I recommend that the committee include in its consideration of the human rights situation in Cuba, the Cuban government's performance with respect to the implementation of international human rights protection legislation.
As you are aware, there are committees that monitor and implement this legislation. I am referring to the various United Nations committees, including the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the Committee Against Torture which monitors the application of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It is important to consider the analyses and recommendations of these monitoring bodies in the light of the reports presented by Cuban government officials, given their significant educational and legal value.
We also think that the work and reports on the activities of the following intergovernmental organizations are also very important: the World Health Organization, the Pan-American Health Organization, the United Nations Population Fund, the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. I would also suggest that when you begin your study, you consider what these organizations have written about the achievement and enjoyment of human rights in Cuba.
I would now like to very briefly describe some reports, including those on the human rights situation in Cuba drafted by the United Nations Human Rights Committee. This was previously the Human Rights Commission. The work done on the human rights situation, under the auspices of the previous Human Rights Commission, re-baptized the Human Rights Committee last year, has attracted a significant amount of attention since special rapporteurs were appointed for the purposes of considering the human rights situation in Cuba. These rapporteurs are the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, I would add to that list Notice No. 9 in the report presented by the working group on arbitrary detention at the 60th session of the former Human Rights Commission dealing with the situation in Cuba.
In September 2005, the personal representative of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, Ms. Christine Chanet, presented the most recent report on human rights in Cuba to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The Cuban authorities never recognized the mandate of the High Commissioner's representative, which made exchanges extremely difficult, if not impossible.
In order to better understand the process, one needs to refer back to the debates that followed the presentation of that report, in September 2006, at the time when the members of the Human Rights Committee were obviously deeply divided not only when those positions were created, but also with respect to the content of the report. The heated discussions that took place after the report was presented are reminiscent of the endless ideological confrontations that took place during the Cold War between the former socialist countries and the developing countries on the one hand, and the industrialized western countries on the other. Those differences obviously continue today.
If you refer to those debates, you will note that the officials from Korea, Russia, Belarus and Zimbabwe, among others, expressed reservations about the contents of the report.
I am not challenging one of the fundamental pillars of the United Nations, which is international human rights protection. I am very supportive of the creation and development of the positions of special rapporteurs on human rights situation throughout the world. These positions are important because they implement the principle of integral protection of human rights which is contained in the United Nations Charter.
Nevertheless, one needs to be aware of how deeply polarized the members of the Human Rights Commission were in 2002, when the position was created, and in September 2006, when the Commission released its report.
Finally, any thorough consideration of the human rights situation in Cuba must also take into account the major environmental changes and the serious impacts they have had over the past 10 or so years on the island's soil. A number of natural phenomena, such as cyclones and drought, have wrought considerable economic and material damage. This damage has a serious impact and consequences as far as protecting, defending, and therefore achieving respect for human rights in Cuba.
Despite the adequate early warning and response system put in place by Cuban authorities, the recurrence and growing severity of these natural disasters is hampering recovery and reconstruction efforts. Based on all available forecasts, the cumulative effects of these natural disasters and periods of chronic drought will continue to worsen. This situation tangibly affects the enjoyment of economic and social rights in Cuba.
In conclusion, I've prepared a number of recommendations. The first recommendation focuses on the democratic transition which began in Cuba some time ago. It is my recommendation that the Government of Canada encourage the Cuban government to promote political pluralism and a multi-party system, provided that various political parties are represented in the National Assembly in Havana, in keeping with Cuban law, including political party financing rules.
This is an important issue because the Government of Cuba, like any sovereign government, cannot tolerate the existence of political parties or organizations financed and propped up by a foreign government, entity or organization. Could you imagine a new political party financed entirely by the Australian or Afghan government, by the Taliban, or by Osama bin Laden, sitting beside the Bloc Québécois, the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, and the NDP, in the House of Commons? That would be undemocratic and fly in the face of every rule of democracy.
A country's political parties must be financed according to the financing rules and laws governing political party financing and must not be supported and financed by a foreign government. Not only is that undemocratic, it also hampers economic development since the whole democratic process centres on defending the State's sovereignty.
I also recommend that the Government of Canada put pressure on the United States' government to end the U.S.'s current foreign policy toward Cuba. Since 1959, that policy has consisted primarily of imposing unilateral economic sanctions.
I would remind you that this policy has been condemned by the United Nations' General Assembly. Fourteen resolutions have been adopted since 1992 in addition to the reports commissioned by the National Assembly from the UN Secretary General calling for the enforcement of these resolutions.