Once again a maneuver against Cuba is being prepared in the European Parliament. On September 16, 2021, in the plenary session, in the context of the debate on violations of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, a point was included entitled: “Detentions and disappearances after the July 11 demonstrations in Cuba”.
Specific objective is to attack the Agreement on Political Dialogue and Cooperation between the EU and Cuba (ADPC) and try to show that it is not a useful framework for relations with Cuba.
They also try once again to attack the Cuban revolution, with new campaigns of lies and manipulation of information about Cuba, which constitutes another example of the interference of the European Parliament in the internal affairs of Cuba, which is in line with US policy , reaching the point of not making reference to the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba, which constitutes the most flagrant violation of the human rights of Cubans and the main limitation for the development of Cuba.
Today the Cuban population is experiencing a particularly difficult situation that affects their well-being, their integrity and their livelihood, affecting access to essential products, services and medicines. After almost six decades of the criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba, it intensified under the Trump administration with the full application of the Helms Burton law, the inclusion of Cuba in the spurious list of countries that sponsor terrorism. , along with the combined impact of the 243 measures taken by the government of President Donald Trump against Cuba, with the purpose of perfecting the economic siege and cutting off all sources of income to the Cuban economy. Cuba’s access to legitimate income, as well as financial operations to guarantee trade, investment, and essential production processes have been hampered to extreme levels. These measures do not constitute simple actions to intensify the blockade, but new and extreme actions of pressure, harassment and economic piracy, which violate International Law and the freedom of commerce and navigation.
The US-declared priorities for human rights, leadership in confronting COVID-19, and rectifying the atrocious policies of the previous administration stand in stark contrast to the apparent indifference and callousness with which the government of President Joe Biden continues to apply the policies of the Donald Trump administration against Cuba and take new measures in that regard. They also try to harm the basic needs of the Cuban people and their daily activities to blame the government for this, in order to try to demonstrate the failure of socialism and prevent the people from continuing to support the revolution.
The US has also used and uses ideological subversion very strongly, inventing false pretexts to place Cuba on unjust lists, creating campaigns against the Cuban doctors, against the Cuban leaders, against the achievements and actions of the Cuban revolution, also creating false victims and false violations of human rights to tarnish the image of the revolution. At this time, Cuba is suffering from campaigns of lies, of manipulations that try to undermine the Cuban revolution, that try to blame the Cuban government for the economic difficulties in times of pandemic, without taking into account the effects of the blockade, the main cause of the difficulties. It is intended to present Cuba as a collapsed country and in chaos to provoke a social outbreak and justify an external intervention.
The events that occurred on July 11 are not the result of a social outbreak, as it has been tried to show the world. The country was the victim of a political communication operation organized and financed from the United States that caused disturbances on a limited scale, which did not receive the support of the vast majority of Cubans. On that day there were vandalism, violent attacks on various types of institutions, shopping centers and employees who protected their workplaces, as well as internal order forces and their media.
Cuba reiterates its right to defend its integrity and sovereignty. Any attempt to alter the peace and the established constitutional order will have a proportional response within the framework of our laws. It will also be done in strict accordance with international law. The detainees are because they committed acts of violence, theft and mistreatment of social property, not for political reasons. In Cuba there are no forced disappearances, no torture, no repression, these accusations are false and are part of the campaign to demonize Cuba.
The US government bears high responsibility for the events, as has been repeatedly denounced by Cuba. US spokesmen and politicians, including President Joe Biden, have expressed themselves with marked cynicism about the unrest in Cuba and about an alleged intention to help the Cuban people. If it had a sincere interest in alleviating the difficulties, the US government would lift the economic, commercial and financial blockade, and would repeal the measures against Cuba.
Cuba rejects any attempt or act of interference in its internal affairs. It is important to denounce that dangerous and irresponsible calls are made from outside Cuba for acts of sabotage, assassination, other selective assassinations, and that a military intervention in Cuba is requested in Miami by elected officials of that country, which would have unforeseeable consequences for peace and security. regional
The call of the Cuban president and our government is to solve the difficulties among Cubans, without external interference and on the basis of patriotic unity to advance in areas that today are affected by the combined effect of the blockade, the pandemic and our own difficulties that we have never denied. Today there is peace and tranquility in Cuba and the institutions are functioning normally within the framework of sanitary restrictions due to the pandemic.
The Cuban people and government are grateful for the multiple shows of support accompanied by rejection of the maneuvers against stability on the Island, condemnation of the criminal US blockade against Cuba, and the rejection of the fierce discrediting campaign against Cuba, carried out by friends in solidarity. Greeks and we would thank you once again for your support and denunciation of these campaigns at the European parliament that attempt to tarnish the prestige of the Cuban revolution.
Additional Information
Other accusations against Cuba
They are those that relate to the new legal regulations on telecommunications that were published in the Official Gazette. Among the legal instruments approved are Decree Law No. 35, On Telecommunications, Information and Communication Technologies and the Use of the Radioelectric Spectrum, and Resolution 105, National Action Model for Response to Cybersecurity Incidents.
Resolution 105, National Action Model for responding to Cybersecurity incidents, is the execution of what is established in Decree 360/2019, which is preventive in nature and reaches out to all of society. Under this new resolution, events that until now did not have legal support in the country in the network of networks will be classified, such as ethical and social damages or incidents of aggression. Likewise, cyberterrorism is recognized as those actions through the use of ICT whose purpose is to subvert the constitutional order, or to suppress or seriously destabilize the functioning of political and mass institutions, the economic and social structures of the State, or to force the public powers to perform an act or refrain from doing so. Seriously disturb the public peace. Seriously destabilize the functioning of an international organization. Provoke a state of terror in the population or in a part of it. In the first category is, for example, the media coverage of false news, understood as the dissemination of false news, offensive messages, defamation with an impact on the country’s prestige.
For its part, Decree-Law No. 35 is the first legal regulation of a higher rank approved in our country on telecommunications services, ICTs and the use of the radioelectric spectrum, since “it is assigned a greater hierarchy and importance due to its transversality in the processes of society, which allows greater coherence and ordering of the existing regulatory framework ”.
The resolutions that accompany the decree law address the numbering, naming, addressing and identification resources used in telecommunications networks and services, radio frequency bands, as well as regulations or other regulations on different types of networks, services, equipment and telecommunications technologies. The duties and rights of both users, as well as operators and providers of public telecommunications services are recognized.
These types of decrees and regulations exist throughout the world, even in EU countries and are necessary for the development of acts of cyber warfare against states, for which they must be protected.
Some Cuban Revolution achievements
Since the triumph of the revolution, Cuba has distinguished itself for its spirit of solidarity and internationalism. The role of Cuba’s international cooperation in the health and biotechnology sector is very important for many countries around the world. For years Cuba has sent medical brigades to various countries, as well as received medical students, and has sent professors to create or strengthen medical schools in poor countries. Members of the International Contingent of Doctors Specialized in Disaster Situations and Serious Epidemics called Henry Reeve, who fight COVID in several countries, as before they fought Ebola in Africa or earthquakes in several places, are an example of this great humanitarian work.
It is remarkable that in the current circumstances of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba has also produced 5 vaccine candidates and applied 3 of these, in intervention studies or health interventions, to millions of Cubans. These are: Abdala, Soberana 2 and Soberana Plus, which have been approved by the national regulatory authority as vaccines against COVID-19, and the documents have been submitted for approval by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is an illustrative result of the effort of science at the service of the people and the effectiveness of the public function. A robust system of science and technological innovation, allied to the free and quality universal health system, with highly specialized human resources, has made it possible to confront the pandemic and the results that Cuba has obtained throughout the history of the revolution. Cuba aspire that in September a little more than 90% of the population will have the first dose. In the month of October, a high percentage of the population will already have the vaccination scheme completed, and in November the entire Cuban population over three years of age must be completed, as well as people allergic to thiomersal and convalescents, including the pediatric population. Cuba began vaccination in May 2021, while in the world it began in December 2020. However, the Island shows data higher than the world average in terms of people with at least one dose and people fully vaccinated.
All these achievements have been despite the obstacles implied by the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba, for more than 60 years, and all the unilateral coercive measures associated with it, which has been rejected by the majority by the General Assembly. of the United Nations every year.
Some aspects on Human Rights in Cuba
Cuba is proud to be among the countries whose governments have done much to achieve the widest possible enjoyment of all #DDHH for all its citizens, and has helped other countries in the developing world achieve those goals.
The Constitution of the Republic is inspired by Marti’s maxim: “I want the first law of our Republic to be the cult of Cubans to the full dignity of man.” The country continues to advance in its efforts to achieve the broadest enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all its citizens.
Compliance with the right to free and universal health and education is guaranteed, as well as access to healthy culture and recreation. Cuba has made significant progress in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. Education reaches universal coverage and is free at all levels of education.
The Cuban State guarantees, through its various programs, that every girl, boy and adolescent has the possibility and the right to study in the National Education System and to reach their training, with equal opportunities, as far as their capacities and efforts allow it. The right to education is guaranteed to all children and young people with any mental or physical disability through Special Education, when the full integration of the person with different capacities in general education institutions is not possible.
Attention to the elderly is a priority and for this a multidisciplinary and intersectoral work is carried out, which guarantees the quality of life of this growing population sector.
Cuba stands out for its cultural development, the population’s full access to art, the preservation and defense of our culture and the enrichment of our spiritual values.
Cuba is a paradigm of how much can be done for the labor inclusion of the disabled.
Cuba’s policy against any type of discrimination and in favor of equality has constitutional rank.
A legal-institutional framework has been created that guarantees full equality for all citizens regardless of their gender, skin color, national origin, religious beliefs, social condition or any other motivation that is harmful to human dignity.
Extensive programs have been carried out aimed at social integration and the development of capacities of historically disadvantaged sectors of the population.
Cuba eradicated institutional racism, offers ample possibilities for improvement and real benefits to the most disadvantaged sectors, and fights to ensure complete and effective equality of opportunities for historically disadvantaged sectors or dysfunctional families. Some racial prejudices and stereotypes that survive from the colonial past of slavery and a neocolonial regime that enthroned racism and racial segregation have not yet been totally overcome.
Respect for free sexual orientation and gender identity is promoted in Cuba. Steady progress is being made in the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation. The National Sex Education Program has incorporated a permanent educational strategy to respect free sexual orientation and gender identity, establishing multiple spaces for exchange based on the principles of equality and non-discrimination.
The Cuban government continues to apply multiple laws, policies and programs aimed at respecting sexual orientation, gender identity and against racial discrimination.
All workers are practically unionized and protected by collective agreements, including those of small private businesses. There is union representation in the Council of Ministers and in ministerial and corporate bodies.
Freedom of expression
Article 53 of the Cuban Constitution recognizes the right to freedom of opinion, expression, information and the press for all citizens. Cuba defends the right of peoples to information as a premise to exercise the right to expression. In Cuba, the basic conditions for the exercise of freedom of opinion, expression and of the press are given by a high educational and cultural level. The press, radio, television, cinema and other mass media are social property, and for the benefit of it.
Religious freedom
Cuba promotes religious freedom. The freedom of religion is fully recognized and protected in the Constitution of the Republic. Guarantees to freedom of religion in Cuba include criminal protection. In Cuba there is no discrimination based on religious beliefs. The Cuban Revolution eliminated every precept by which a believer was discriminated against and punished for his religious faith.
Discrimination based on race, skin color, national origin, religious beliefs and any other damage to human dignity is prohibited and is sanctioned by law, as endorsed in article 42 of the Constitution of the Republic.
In Cuba, parents have full freedom to provide their children with religious and moral education in accordance with their convictions, which can be materialized through religious teaching within their own family or through different forms of doctrinal and liturgical formation.
The Cuban State maintains cordial and respectful relations with the ecclesiastical authorities of the different faiths present in the country, and has provided all the necessary facilities for these institutions to carry out their activities.
Participation of civil society
The Cuban State recognizes and encourages the mass and social organizations, which emerged in the historical process of popular struggles, which group within the most varied and broad sectors of the population, represent their specific interests and incorporate them into the tasks of the construction, consolidation and defense of the company.
Due to its extensive membership, representativeness and capacity for mobilization, the Cuban political system guarantees non-governmental organizations broad powers and capacity for proposition, consultation, opinion, and decision, in the exercise of participatory democracy instituted by the current constitutional order. Only through the development of influential social movements has it been possible for Cuban society to carry out a greater accumulation of activities that would have been impossible to do exclusively through public services or the rest of the State’s management.
From the growing participation of civil society in the life of the country, a culture has developed that allows a growing segment of citizens to understand the links between their daily lives and their participation. In Cuba, citizen participation in public space is encouraged, debate is encouraged and sites are created where the criteria of various sectors of society can be confronted to lead to a collective construction of country issues. Cuban civil society has actively participated in discussions and debates around legislative projects, programs and policy proposals, providing criteria for their enrichment. Civil society in Cuba has contributed to the implementation of educational, informational and legal community actions.
Other warranties
In Cuba, social security and assistance is guaranteed.
Huge efforts are being made by the State to guarantee the right to food and decent housing.
In Cuba there are no unprotected people or deprived of dignity, there are no children without education, the sick without medical attention or the elderly without social protection.
In Cuba there are no workers, peasants, intellectuals or students whose rights are not protected by law.
Cuba proudly exhibits a society with high levels of citizen security, without organized crime or drugs as a social problem.
Cuba is a country whose human rights record does not present a single case of extrajudicial executions, torture or disappearances, without kidnappings or secret jails. There are no criminal organizations in Cuba.
The rights to life, liberty and security of the person are based on the principle of respect for human dignity, and constitute pillars in the actions of the Cuban authorities and in the functioning of the entire society.
Cuba is committed to respecting, supporting and defending the actions carried out by human rights defenders as part of the efforts to promote and protect the exercise of all human rights for all.
Cuba opposes the misuse of the Declaration of Defenders in order to promote certain groups, financed from abroad, that seek the destabilization of legitimate governments, as well as attempts to victimize them as alleged human rights defenders. There is a profound difference in law from a practical point of view between what is described as “defenders of Human Rights”, as reflected in the Declaration of the General Assembly of December 9, 1998, and the declaration of “agents of foreign powers ”or“ foreign agents ”.
International cooperation in areas related to Human Rights
Cuba has a long history of cooperation with all human rights mechanisms that are applied on a universal and non-discriminatory basis. Cuba has received the visit of heads of special procedures of the Human Rights Council established on a non-discriminatory basis.