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)
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