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Title: Cuba Human Rights Practices, 1995
Author: U.S. Department of State
Date: March 1996
CUBA
Cuba is a totalitarian state controlled by President Fidel Castro, who
is Chief of State, Head of Government, First Secretary of the Communist
Party, and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. President Castro
exercises control over all aspects of Cuban life through the Communist
Party and its affiliated mass organizations, the government bureaucracy,
and the state security apparatus. The party is the only legal political
entity, and President Castro personally chooses the membership of the
select group which heads the party. The party controls all government
positions, including judicial offices.
The Ministry of Interior is the principal organ of state security and
totalitarian control. The Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), directed by
President Castro's brother Raul, exercise de facto control over this
Ministry. In addition to regulating migration and controlling the
Border Guard and the police forces, the Interior Ministry investigates
and actively suppresses organized opposition and dissent. It maintains
a pervasive system of vigilance through undercover agents, informers,
the Rapid Reaction Brigades, and the Committees for the Defense of the
Revolution (CDR's). While the Government traditionally used the CDR's
to mobilize citizens against dissenters, impose ideological conformity,
and root out "counterrevolutionary" behavior, severe economic problems
have reduced the willingness of citizens to participate in the CDR's and
thereby lessened their effectiveness. Other mass organizations also
inject government and Communist Party control into every citizen's daily
activities at home, work, and school. Members of the security forces
committed human rights abuses.
The Government continued to control all significant means of production
and remained the predominant employer, despite some foreign investment
and legalization of some types of self-employment. Although the
Government claimed 2.3 percent economic growth during the first 9 months
of 1995, the economy remained in a depression due to the inefficiencies
of the centrally controlled economic system, the collapse of Cuba's
trade relations with the former Soviet bloc, and the end of the $4 to $5
billion in annual Soviet subsidies. Despite some indications of
economic growth, gross domestic product is still only about two-thirds
the 1989 level, and total foreign trade about one-fourth the 1989 level.
The Government continued its austerity measures known euphemistically as
the "special period in peacetime." Agricultural markets, legalized in
1994, gave consumers wider access to meat and produce, although at
prices beyond the routine reach of most Cubans living on peso-only
incomes. The system of "tourist apartheid" continued, in which foreign
visitors received preference over citizens for food, consumer products,
and government services, as well as access to hotels and resorts from
which Cuban citizens were barred.
The Government's human rights record continued to be poor with
allegations of serious abuses. Although the Government made some
positive gestures, including ratifying the United Nations International
Convention Against Torture, permitting a delegation led by France-
Liberte to interview a number of political prisoners, and releasing
several prominent political prisoners, it continued to restrict sharply
basic political and civil rights. These included: the right of
citizens to change their government; the freedoms of speech, press,
association, assembly, religion, and movement; as well as the right to
privacy and various workers' rights. The judiciary is subordinate to
the Government and to the Communist Party.
Authorities continued to harass, threaten, imprison, defame, and
physically attack human rights advocates and members of independent
professional associations, including journalists, economists, and
lawyers, often with the goal of encouraging them to leave Cuba. In
October a number of human rights groups and other nongovernmental
organizations formed an umbrella association, known as the "Concilio
Cubano." The Government responded by detaining and harassing certain
key members and obstructing meetings of the group. Human rights
advocates were denied the right of due process and subjected to unfair
trials. Political prisoners were regularly offered the choice of exile
or continued imprisonment. Prison conditions remained harsh.
Human rights advocates and religious leaders, such as Francisco Chaviano
and Pentecostal pastor Orson Vila, were denied the right of due process
and subjected to unfair trials. In March the United Nation's Human
Rights Commission (UNHRC) once again passed a resolution endorsing the
report of the UNHRC Special Rapporteur, which detailed Cuba's violations
of human rights. The Government continued to refuse the Special
Rapporteur permission to visit Cuba.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
One criminal suspect died as a result of a beating received while in
police custody. On September 12, police in the city of Consolacion del
Sur informed the family that Etanislao Gonzalez Quintana, detained since
September 8 for the alleged illegal purchase of beef, had died of a
heart attack. However, his body showed signs of having been beaten,
including a deep gash on his forehead and multiple bruises. The family
received no response to the formal complaint they filed with the police.
The Government never conducted a full investigation into the Cuban Coast
Guard's sinking of the "13th of March" tugboat on July 13, 1994, which
caused the death of 37 people.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
The Constitution prohibits abusive treatment of detainees and prisoners,
but members of the security forces and prison officials continued to
beat and otherwise abuse human right advocates, detainees, and
prisoners. For example, Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello, president of the
Institute of Independent Economists of Cuba, received several anonymous,
written death threats and on one occasion was visited by an unknown man
who brandished a gun and made a gesture as if slitting her throat.
Elizardo Sanchez Santacruz, head of the Cuban Commission on Human Rights
and National Reconciliation, was visited on several occasions by
individuals claiming to be relatives of political prisoners who shouted
abuse, threatened him, tried to punch him through the window, and
finally hurled porch chairs against the window. Local police never
followed up on his complaint. This harassment is consistent with the
pattern of abuse practiced by state security agents.
Prison conditions continued to be harsh. The Government claims that
prisoners have guaranteed rights, such as family visitation, adequate
nutrition, pay for work, the right to request parole, and the right to
petition the prison director. However, police and prison officials
often used beatings, neglect, isolation, denial of medical attention,
and other abuses against detainees and prisoners, including those
convicted of political crimes or those who persisted in expressing their
views. State security officials often subjected dissidents to
systematic psychological intimidation, including sleep deprivation, in
an attempt to coerce them to sign incriminating documents or to
collaborate. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)
found that the "serious prison conditions and other deliberately severe
and degrading treatment meted out to prisoners by the Cuban Government
amount to serious violations of human rights."
Prison authorities used physical violence even against prisoners seeking
medical attention. On May 10, Leonor Zamora Fernandez, imprisoned in
the Manto Negro women's prison, was kicked, beaten, and thrown down the
stairs by a prison official for demanding medical attention. She was
then sent to a punishment cell and left for 8 days without medical
treatment for either her new injuries, including a broken arm, or her
original medical problem. In September three guards at the Combinado
del Este prison beat prisoner Victor Villar Vidot for having shouted out
for medical attention to deal with his migraine headache.
A group of political prisoners in the Kilo 8 prison in the province of
Camaguey reported that prison authorities routinely denied political
prisoners the right to have their sentence reduced for good behavior, as
well as access to food, clothing, medical and dental treatment, and
educational, sporting, and cultural activities. They reported that
prisoners received no salary for their work in the Abatur S.A. company
that provides laundry services for the hotels in Camaguey province.
Kilo 8 prison authorities also denied political prisoners requests for
visits by the local priest.
Other prisons also routinely denied prisoners their "guaranteed" rights.
Pastor Orson Vila, serving an 18-month sentence for disobedience and
illegal meetings in the work farm "La 40" in the province of Camaguey
(see Section 2.c.), was denied regularly authorized passes as well as a
special award pass due him as "best worker." For over a year, prison
authorities at the Kilo 5 1/2 prison in Pinar del Rio denied a family
visit to Jose Miranda Acosta, sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment for
alleged terrorist acts. Only when his ailing 85-year-old father
appeared at the prison and refused to leave did prison authorities
permit him to see his son. They told the father that they would not
allow further visits because Miranda Acosta refused to wear the prison
uniform and demanded that his rights as a political prisoner be
respected.
The IACHR described the nutritional and hygienic situation in the
prisons, together with the deficiencies in medical care, as "alarming."
Both the IACHR and the U.N. Special Rapporteur, as well as other human
rights monitoring organizations, reported widespread incidence of
tuberculosis, scabies, hepatitis, parasitic infections, and malnutrition
in prisons. Moreover, the IACHR noted that prison authorities subjected
prisoners who protested the conditions or treatment to reprisals such as
beatings, transfer to punishment cells, transfer to prisons far from
their families, suspension of family visits, or denial of medical
treatment.
Political prisoners Sebastian Arcos Bergnes, Agustin Figueredo
Figueredo, and Luis Enrique Gonzalez Ogra, released in May at the urging
of the French humanitarian organization France-Liberte (see Section 4),
suffered from advanced stages of cancer that, despite obvious symptoms,
had gone undiagnosed and untreated during their imprisonment. Omar del
Pozo Marrero, sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for revealing state
secrets, was denied medical treatment despite the fact that his family
brought all the necessary medicines and supplies to the military
hospital for the required surgery.
Prison authorities often placed political prisoners in cells with common
and sometimes violent criminals and required that they comply with the
rules for common criminals. Luis Gustavo Dominguez Gutierrez, sentenced
to 7 years' imprisonment for enemy propaganda, conducted a hunger strike
for several weeks to protest his confinement in a cell with common
criminals who had been harassing and threatening him. Political
prisoner Francisco Chaviano (see Section l.e.) undertook a hunger strike
for several weeks in September to protest his unfair imprisonment as
well as his treatment as a common criminal. Omar del Pozo Marrero wrote
several letters to government leaders demanding that they respect his
status as a political prisoner.
The Government does not permit independent monitoring of prison
conditions by international or national human rights monitoring groups.
However, the Government did permit the France-Liberte delegation to
interview 24 political prisoners in the prisons' administrative
sections. The Government refused the delegation access to prison cells,
kitchens, dining halls, or infirmaries (see Section 4).
Effective May 17, the Government ratified the United Nations Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, with
certain reservations relating to the investigation and arbitration of
complaints.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Law of Penal Procedures requires police to file formal charges and
either release a detainee or bring the case before a prosecutor within
96 hours of arrest. It also requires the authorities to provide
suspects with access to a lawyer within 10 days of arrest. However, the
Constitution states that all legally recognized civil liberties can be
denied anyone actively opposing the "decision of the Cuban people to
build socialism." Authorities routinely invoke this sweeping authority
to deny these guarantees to those detained on purported state security
grounds.
Authorities routinely engage in arbitrary arrest and detention of human
rights advocates, subjecting them to interrogations, threats, and
degrading treatment and conditions for hours or days at a time. Ramon
Varela Sanchez, vice president of the Marti Civic League, has been
detained without charges since July 31. In addition, the Government
regularly cracked down on groups of human rights advocates, including
the newly formed Concilio Cubano. Between May 13 and May 16, state
security agents detained 17 provincial and municipal leaders of the
Human Rights Party of Cuba for periods ranging from several hours to
several days. They were released pending trial on charges of enemy
propaganda. To prevent any organized commemoration of the anniversary
of the death of 37 people aboard the "13th of March" tugboat, state
security agents detained over 30 human rights advocates between July 11
and July 13, releasing them hours or days later without charges.
The Penal Code also includes the concept of "dangerousness," defined as
the "special proclivity of a person to commit crimes, demonstrated by
his conduct in manifest contradiction of socialist norms." If the
police decide a person exhibits signs of dangerousness, they may bring
the offender before a court or subject him to "therapy" or "political
reeducation." Government authorities regularly intimidate critics by
threatening prosecution under this article. Both the UNHRC and the
IACHR condemned this concept for its subjectivity, the summary nature of
the judicial proceedings employed, the lack of legal safeguards, and the
political considerations behind its application. According to the
IACHR, "the special inclination to commit crimes referred to in the
Cuban criminal code amounts to a subjective criterion used by the
Government to justify violations of the right to individual freedom and
due process of persons whose sole crime has been an inclination to hold
a view different from the official view."
Jesus Castillo, an independent lawyer who works with human rights and
independent labor organizations, was threatened with a charge of
dangerousness if he refused to accept work washing floors at a
cafeteria. The National Lawyers' Organization had disbarred him in 1984
for "ideological deviationism," and authorities also detained him for 2
years without charges. On October 20, state security agents detained
independent journalist Olance Nogueras Rofes and threatened him with
imprisonment on the charge of dangerousness if he did not leave the
country or apply for refugee status (see Section 2.a.). They released
him 5 days later but rearrested him on October 26 and held him for
several days. He was released pending police investigation of potential
charges of revealing state secrets and enemy propaganda. Nogueras had
been investigating alleged construction and safety deficiencies at the
Juragua nuclear power plant in Cienfuegos.
The Government also used exile as a tool for controlling and eliminating
internal opposition. The Government regularly offered exile as the
condition for release to political prisoners. Rodolfo Gonzalez
Gonzalez, Luis Alberto Pita Santos, and Pablo Reyes Martinez were all
taken directly from prison to the airport for flights to other
countries. The UNHRC condemned the practice of "obligating political
prisoners to leave the country and subjecting them to pressure while
they are in prison to accept this condition." For the first time,
however, the Government permitted the unconditional release of a number
of political prisoners, although many of those ostensibly released
unconditionally as "special cases" were advised to begin their refugee
processing immediately or risk reimprisonment. Six prisoners released
in late May following the visit of France-Liberte, including Sebastian
Arcos Bergnes and Yndamiro Restano Diaz, were allowed to remain in the
country.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Although the Constitution provides for independent courts, it explicitly
subordinates them to the National Assembly (ANPP) and the Council of
State, which is headed by Fidel Castro. The rubber-stamp ANPP and its
lower level counterparts elect all judges. The subordination of the
courts to the Communist Party further compromises the judiciary's
independence.
Civil courts exist at municipal, provincial, and Supreme Court levels.
Panels composed of a mix of professionally certified and lay judges
preside over them. Military tribunals assume jurisdiction for certain
counterrevolutionary cases. Cuban law and trial practices do not meet
international standards for fair public trials. Almost all cases are
tried in less than 1 day.
There are no jury trials. Most trials are public; however, trials are
closed when state security is allegedly involved. Prosecutors may
introduce testimony from a CDR member as to the revolutionary background
of a defendant, which may contribute to either a longer or shorter
sentence. The law recognizes the right of appeal in municipal courts
but limits it in provincial courts to cases such as those involving
maximum prison terms or the death penalty. The law requires that an
appeal be filed within 5 days of the verdict.
Criteria for presenting evidence, especially in cases of human rights
advocates, are arbitrary and discriminatory. Often the sole evidence
provided, particularly in political cases, is the defendant's
confession, usually obtained under duress and without the legal advice
or knowledge of a defense lawyer. The authorities regularly deny
defendants access to their lawyers until the day of the trial. Several
dissidents who have served prison terms say that they were tried and
sentenced without counsel and were not allowed to speak on their own
behalf.
The law provides the accused the right to an attorney, but the control
the Government exerts over members of the state-controlled lawyer's
collectives--especially when they defend persons accused of state
security crimes--thoroughly compromises their ability to represent
clients. Observers have reported reluctance among attorneys to defend
those charged in political cases out of fear of jeopardizing their own
careers.
Several members of the "Corriente Agramontista," an association of
reform-minded lawyers who often defend individuals accused of political
crimes, were either transferred to remote locations to encourage them to
resign or were fired and disbarred. Agramontista President Rene Gomez
Manzano was fired on October 6 for his "disrespectful and ironical
attitude" at the 1992 general meeting of the National Lawyers'
Organization, as well as for having written a letter containing
"calumnious comments about the performance of the National Executive
Board." Gomez' letter had criticized the financial and political
management of the organization and had proposed the democratization of
the organization and the reinstatement of the private practice of law.
The military trial of human rights advocate and leader of the National
Council for Civil Rights, Francisco Chaviano, on charges of revealing
state secrets and falsifying documents, exemplified the absence of fair
trial procedures and due process. Chaviano, who was detained for 11
months without charges, received notice of his indictment only days
before his April 15 trial date. After having dismissed his attorney in
protest over the Government's refusal to give her access to his file or
to conduct private interviews with him, he had only 1 day to review his
500-page case file. On the day of his trial, he accepted a court-
appointed lawyer. During the 1-day trial closed to everyone except his
immediate family, the military tribunal prohibited Chaviano from making
any statement, calling defense witnesses, or presenting exculpatory
evidence. The prosecution presented no physical evidence in support of
the charges. Chaviano was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment; his
appeals were subsequently denied. During the trial, the local CDR
amassed a group of about 50 people armed with pipes, sticks, bats, and
stones outside the courthouse to threaten the small group of family,
friends, and human rights advocates who had gathered there.
According to Amnesty International, 600 persons were imprisoned for
various political crimes. Other human rights monitoring groups estimate
that between 1,000 and 1,500 individuals--not including those held for
dangerousness--were imprisoned on such charges as enemy propaganda,
illicit association, contempt for authority (usually for criticizing
Fidel Castro), clandestine printing, or the broad charge of rebellion,
often brought against advocates of peaceful democratic change. In a
television interview in October, President Castro acknowledged and
attempted to justify the existence of political prisoners in Cuba by
stating that this was a normal practice in many other countries.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Although the Constitution provides for the inviolability of one's home
and correspondence, official surveillance of private and family affairs
by government-controlled mass organizations, such as the CDR's, remains
one of the most pervasive and repressive features of Cuban life. The
State has assumed the right to interfere in the lives of citizens, even
those who do not actively oppose the Government and its practices. The
Communist Party controls the mass organizations which permeate society.
Their ostensible purpose is to "improve" the citizenry, but in fact
their goal is to discover and discourage nonconformity. Citizen
participation in these mass organizations has declined; the economic
crisis has both reduced the Government's ability to provide material
incentives for their participation and forced many people to engage in
black market activities which the mass organizations are supposed to
report to the authorities.
The authorities utilize a wide range of social controls. The Interior
Ministry employs an intricate system of informants and block committees
(the CDR's) to monitor and control public opinion. While to a lesser
extent than in the past, CDR's continue to report on suspicious
activity, including conspicuous consumption; unauthorized meetings,
including those with foreigners; and defiant attitudes toward the
Government and the revolution.
State security often reads international correspondence and monitors
overseas telephone calls and conversations with foreigners. Citizens do
not have the right to receive publications from abroad. Security agents
subject dissidents, foreign diplomats, and journalists to surveillance.
State security officials threatened human rights advocate Victoria Ruiz
Labrit with having her children removed from her custody if she
continued her involvement in the human rights movement.
The authorities regularly search people and their homes, without
probable cause, to intimidate and harass them. In July police searched
the homes of independent journalists Nestor Baguer and Jose Rivero
Garcia and seized their facsimile machines (see Section 2.a.). In
August state security agents seized the replacement facsimile machine
that Baguer had received. On October 18, state security agents in
Camaguey spent 2 1/2 hours searching the home of Dulce Maria Suarez
Ramirez, who provides temporary lodging for the visiting relatives of
political prisoners detained in Camaguey province. State security
agents seized letters from those families, as well as personal video
cassettes and various foreign publications.
The authorities regularly detained human rights advocates after they
visited the U.S. Interests Section, confiscated their written reports of
human rights abuses, and seized copies of U.S. newspapers and other
informational materials.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Government does not allow criticism of the revolution or its
leaders. Laws against antigovernment propaganda, graffiti, and insults
against officials carry penalties of from 3 months to 1 year in prison.
If President Castro or members of the National Assembly or Council of
State are the object of criticism, the sentence is extended to 3 years.
Local CDR's inhibit freedom of speech by monitoring and reporting
dissent or criticism. Police and state security officials regularly
harassed, threatened, beat, and otherwise abused human rights advocates
in public and private as a means of intimidation and control.
Miguel Angel Aldana, President of the Marti Civic League, which
regularly reports human rights violations to the U.S. media, was
assaulted by three unidentified men in full daylight on June 15. While
one pinned down his arm, another took a wooden stick and beat his hand
telling him that it was "so you can't continue writing garbage." Police
in the emergency room at the local hospital asked no questions when
Aldana arrived obviously beaten and bloody.
Several members of the Independent Press Bureau of Cuba (BPIC), founded
in September by former political prisoner Yndamiro Restano Diaz, were
detained and threatened with imprisonment if they continued their work
as independent journalists. Olance Nogueras Rofes was detained twice,
each time for several days, and threatened with imprisonment if he did
not either stop working for BPIC or leave the country (see Section
l.d.).
The Government rigorously monitored other forms of expression and often
arrested people for crimes of enemy propaganda and clandestine printing.
Enemy propaganda was considered to include materials ranging from the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to reports of human rights
violations, to mainstream foreign newspapers and magazines.
The Constitution states that electronic and print media are state
property and "cannot become in any case private property." The
Communist Party controls all media as a means to indoctrinate the
public. All media can only operate under Party guidelines and must
faithfully reflect government views. No other public forums exist. The
Government continued to jam U.S.-operated Radio Marti and Television
Marti, although it usually did not jam other foreign radio broadcasts.
Radio Marti broadcasts frequently overcame the jamming attempts. The
Government's control often extends to the foreign press as well. The
Government controls access to the Internet.
The Government circumscribes artistic, literary, and academic freedoms.
Authorities denied exit permits to at least nine academics who were to
attend the annual Latin American Studies Association (LASA) conference
in the United States because of the content of their research.
According to the LASA president, "to impose such restrictions on
academic travel is an embarrassment for the freedom of education." The
University of Las Villas dismissed Alvaro Zamora Hernandez, a psychology
professor, for "ideological treason" after he was returned to Cuba
following an illegal departure attempt. Although the university refused
to offer him another position at an equal salary, they did continue to
pay him his previous salary.
The educational system teaches that the State's interests have
precedence over all other commitments. The Ministry of Education
requires teachers to evaluate students' ideological character and note
it in the records that students carry throughout their schooling, and
which affect their future educational and career prospects.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Although the Constitution grants limited rights of assembly and
association, these rights are subject to the requirement that they may
not be "exercised against ... the existence and objectives of the
Socialist State." The law punishes any unauthorized assembly, including
for private religious services, of more than three persons, even in a
private home, by up to 3 months in prison and a fine (see Section 2.c.).
The authorities selectively enforce this prohibition and often use it as
a legal pretext to harass and imprison human rights advocates. The
authorities have never approved a public meeting of a human rights
group.
The Penal Code specifically outlaws "illegal or unrecognized groups."
The Ministry of Justice, in consultation with the Interior Ministry,
decides whether to recognize organizations. Recognized churches, the
Roman Catholic humanitarian organization CARITAS, the Masonic Order,
small human rights groups, and several nascent independent professional
organizations are the only associations outside the control of the
State, the Party, and mass organizations. All other legally recognized
nongovernmental groups are affiliated with or controlled by the
Government. The authorities continue to ignore applications for legal
recognition, thereby allowing the Government to threaten members of
these groups with charges of illicit association.
c. Freedom of Religion
In recent years, the Government has eased the harsher aspects of its
repression of religious freedom. In 1991 it allowed religious adherents
to join the Communist Party. In July 1992, it amended the Constitution
to prohibit religious discrimination and removed references to
"scientific materialism," i.e., atheism, as the basis for the Cuban
State. While the Protestant Ecumenical Council praised such actions,
the Episcopal Conference of the Roman Catholic Church replied with
concern over the gap between the Government's rhetoric and actions. In
late 1993, the Government harshly criticized the Roman Catholic bishops'
pastoral letter calling for national reconciliation and dialog. Despite
continued restrictions and harsh rhetoric, the Roman Catholic Church has
observed that it has relatively more latitude in which to carry out its
pastoral mission.
Despite legal changes, religious persecution continues. The State
prohibits members of the armed forces from allowing anyone in their
household to observe religious practices. It exempts elderly relatives
only if their religious beliefs do not influence other family members
and are not "damaging to the revolution."
The Government continued to use the Penal Code to persecute Jehovah's
Witnesses and, to a lesser extent, Seventh Day Adventists because it
considers them to be "active religious enemies of the revolution" for
their refusal to accept obligatory military service or participate in
state organizations. The Government also harasses other churches.
Miguel Angel Leon, a Baptist minister in Cienfuegos province, and Jorge
Luis Brito, a member of the church, were tried in December 1994 after 14
months in detention and sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment for enemy
propaganda.
The Government requires churches and other religious groups to register
with the provincial registry of associations to obtain official
recognition. The Government prohibits, with occasional exceptions, the
construction of new churches, forcing many congregations to violate the
law and meet in people's homes.
On May 24, Pentecostal Pastor Orson Vila was arrested, tried, and
sentenced to 23 months' imprisonment (reduced on appeal to 18 months) on
charges of disobedience and illegal meetings for refusing to close his
private house of worship in the city of Camaguey (see Section l.c.). At
the same time, authorities closed over 80 Pentecostal private houses of
worship in the province of Camaguey. They charged that the private
houses of worship were operating without official authorization. Vila
had followed the prescribed procedures for requesting such authorization
but had only received responses to 16 of the 101 applications he
submitted.
Official recognition of all religious holidays ended in 1961. At that
time, the Government also prohibited nearly all religious processions
outside churches and denied churches access to mass media. Despite
obstacles raised by the Government, church attendance has grown in
recent years.
State security officials regularly harassed human rights advocates prior
to services commemorating special feast days or before significant
national days. A number of human rights advocates were warned against
attending services at the Sacred Heart church in Havana on July 13, the
anniversary of the sinking of the "13th of March" tugboat. Prior to the
September 8 celebration of the feast day of the "Virgen de la Caridad
del Cobre," 10 members of the Maximo Gomez Human Rights Democratic Front
in Pinar del Rio were either detained or warned not to attend the church
service. Sixteen members of the Jose Marti Democratic Bloc were
detained or threatened before the September 24 celebration of the feast
day of the "Virgen de las Mercedes."
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation
The Government does not impose legal restrictions on domestic travel,
except for persons found to be HIV-positive, whom it initially restricts
to sanitoriums for treatment and therapy before conditionally releasing
them to the community. However, state security officials forbade human
rights advocates Aida Rosa Jimenez and Miguel Angel Aldana from
returning to the provinces of Camaguey and Pinar del Rio, respectively,
and prohibited independent journalist Olance Nogueras Rofes from leaving
his province of Cienfuegos.
The Government allows the majority of persons who qualify for immigrant
or refugee status in other countries to leave Cuba. However, the
authorities delay or deny exit permits in certain cases, usually without
explanation. Many of the denials involve professionals who have tried
to emigrate and whom the Government subsequently banned from working in
their occupational field. The Government refuses permission to others
because it considers their cases sensitive for political or state
security reasons. The Government also routinely denies exit permits to
young men approaching the age for military service, even when it has
authorized the rest of the family to leave. However, most of those
cases approved for migration to the United States eventually receive
exemptions from obligatory service and exit permits. In midyear, the
Government made it more difficult for individuals to leave the country
by imposing high fees, payable in U.S. dollars, for passports, exit
permits, and medical checkups. As a result of these fees, almost 1,000
approved migrants were unable to travel.
The Government denied temporary exit permits to several human rights
advocates, including Elizardo Sanchez Santacruz and Osvaldo Paya, as
well as to eminent neurosurgeon Hilda Molina Morejon, who had hoped to
visit her son and newborn grandson in Argentina.
Unauthorized departures by boat or raft continue to be punishable by
fines and prison terms of from 6 months to 3 years, although the
Government agreed under the terms of the May 2 U.S.-Cuban migration
accord not to prosecute or retaliate against rafters returned to Cuba
from international or U.S. waters. Although none of the returned
rafters has been prosecuted for illegal departure, 16 of 223 returnees
were detained at year's end on various charges unrelated to their
illegal departure attempt. Of these, nine were jailed on charges of
committing common crimes, six on charges of escaping from prison or
violating parole in connection with earlier illegal attempts to enter or
exit Cuba, and one on charges of violating exit laws following his
repatriation. The Penal Code provides for imprisonment from 1 to 3
years or a fine of 300 to 1,000 pesos for illegal departure. The U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has stated that it regards any
sentence for illegal exit of over 1 year as harsh and excessive.
In August 1994, the Government eased restrictions on visits by, and
repatriation of, Cuban emigrants. Cubans who establish residency
abroad, and who are in possession of government-issued "permits to
reside abroad," may travel to Cuba without visas. The Government
further reduced the age of people eligible to travel abroad from 20 to
18 years and extended the period for temporary stay abroad from 6 to 11
months. In November the Government announced a further relaxation in
travel requirements. Emigrants who are considered not to have engaged
in "hostile actions" against the Government and who are not subject to
criminal proceedings in their country of residence may apply at Cuban
consulates for renewable, 2-year multiple-entry travel authorizations.
The Constitution provides for the granting of asylum to individuals
persecuted "for their ideals or struggles for democratic rights against
imperialism, fascism, colonialism, and neocolonialism; against
discrimination and racism; for national liberation; for the rights of
workers, peasants, and students; for their progressive political,
scientific, artistic, and literary activities, for socialism and peace."
According to the UNHCR, no third country national sought asylum or
refugee status from the Government in 1995. The Government works with
the UNHCR to process refugee and asylum claims.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Citizens have no legal right to change their government or to advocate
change. The Constitution proscribes any political organization other
than the Communist Party. A small group of leaders select members of
its highest governing bodies--the Politburo and the Central Committee.
The authorities tightly control all elections. The Government estimated
a 97 percent turnout for the July 9 elections for municipal councils.
Most of the candidates were members of the Communist Party, and no
candidates entered in opposition to the Government.
The Government has ignored calls for democratic reform. In an interview
with Cable News Network television in October, President Castro
reiterated his view that political parties would fragment Cuban society,
and he would therefore not permit them. The Government rejects any
change judged incompatible with the revolution, as well as proposals by
Cubans who seek nonviolent political change. The Government has
systematically retaliated against those who have peacefully sought
political change.
Though not a formal requirement, Communist Party membership is a de
facto prerequisite for high-level official positions and professional
advancement.
Government leadership positions continued to be male dominated.
There are very few women or minorities in policymaking positions in the
Government or the Party. There are three women on the Politburo. Two
of the 14 provincial party secretaries are women, the first chosen in
1993. The head of the Union of Communist Youth is a woman. Although
blacks and mulattos make up over half the population, they hold only 2
seats in the 26-member Politburo.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
The Government does not recognize any domestic or international human
rights groups, or permit them to function legally. The Government
subjects domestic human rights advocates to intense intimidation,
harassment, and repression (see Sections 1.c., 1.d., and 1.e.). In
violation of its own statutes, the Government refuses to consider
applications for legal recognition submitted by human rights monitoring
groups.
The Government has steadfastly rejected international human rights
monitoring. In 1991 Cuba's U.N. representative stated that Cuba would
not recognize the UNHRC mandate on Cuba and would not cooperate with the
Special Rapporteur, despite being a UNHRC member. This policy remains
unchanged. The Government consistently refused requests by the Special
Rapporteur to visit Cuba. The Government did allow a brief visit by the
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights in November 1994, but it did not
honor his request that it permit the Special Rapporteur to visit in
compliance with his U.N. mandate.
As a result of an agreement between Danielle Mitterand, president of the
humanitarian organization France-Liberte Foundation, and President
Castro, the Government permitted a four-person delegation, headed by
Raphael Doueb, vice president of France-Liberte, to meet with 24
political prisoners between April 28 and May 5. The members of that
delegation included representatives of the International Federation for
Human
Rights, Doctors of the World, and Human Rights Watch/Americas. The
delegation was not permitted to conduct interviews in the prison cells
or to inspect prison facilities. The delegation reported that no
prisoner had complained of physical abuse during his detention, but that
all had complained of summary and unfair trials, prolonged pretrial
incommunicado detention, cruel and inhuman prison conditions, and
confinement with common criminals. The delegation reported being
particularly struck by the severity of the sentences imposed on
political prisoners for nonviolent crimes.
The delegation requested the immediate release on health grounds of four
of the political prisoners interviewed, and special medical treatment
for two others who had not been interviewed. At the end of May, the
Government released Agustin Figueredo Figueredo, Pedro Castillo Ferrer,
Sebastian Arcos Bergnes, Yndamiro Restano Diaz, Ismael Salvia Ricardo,
and Luis Enrique Gonzalez Ogra. Omar del Pozo Marrero, one of the four
whose immediate release had been sought, was not released (see Section
l.c.). The delegation presented a preliminary report on its visit to
the Government in mid-June and issued a final report in December. In a
televised interview conducted during his trip to New York, President
Castro stated that he had disagreed with the preliminary report.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability,
Language, or Social Status
Cuba is a multiracial society with a black and mixed race majority. The
Constitution forbids discrimination based on race, sex, or national
origin, although evidence suggests that racial and sexual discrimination
often occur.
Women
Violent crime is rarely reported in the press, and there are no publicly
available data regarding the incidence of domestic violence. The law
establishes strict penalties for rape, and the Government appears to
enforce the law. Prostitution has increased greatly in the last few
years; press reports indicate that tourists from various countries visit
Cuba specifically to patronize inexpensive prostitutes. During its
annual meeting, the official Federation of Cuban Women criticized
government-sponsored advertising which promoted sex-related tourism.
The Family Code states that women and men have equal rights and
responsibilities regarding marriage, divorce, raising children,
maintaining the home, and pursuing a career. Women are subject to the
same restrictions on property ownership as men. The Maternity Law
provides 18 weeks of maternity leave and grants working women
preferential access to goods and services. About 40 percent of all
women work, and they are well represented in the professions.
Children
The Constitution states that the Government will protect "family,
maternity, and matrimony." It also states that children, legitimate or
not, have the same rights under the law and notes the duties of parents
to protect them. Education is free and is grounded in Marxist ideology.
State organizations and schools are charged with the "integral formation
of childhood and youth." The national health care system covers all
citizens. There is no pattern of societal abuse of children.
People With Disabilities
The law prohibits discrimination based on disability, and there have
been few complaints of such discrimination. There are no laws which
mandate accessibility to buildings for people with disabilities.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Many blacks have benefited from the social changes of the revolution.
Nevertheless, there have been numerous instances of police harassment of
blacks, including black foreigners and diplomats who were mistaken for
being Cuban. Many black dissidents also report that the authorities
single them out for harassment.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution gives priority to state or collective needs over
individual choices regarding free association or provision of
employment. The "demands of the economy and society" take precedence
over individual worker's preferences. The law prohibits strikes; none
are known to have occurred. Established labor organizations have a
mobilization function and do not act as trade unions or promote or
protect worker rights, including the right to strike. Such
organizations are under the control of the State and the party.
The Communist Party selects the leaders of the sole legal confederation,
the Confederation of Cuban Workers, whose principal responsibility is to
ensure that government production goals are met. Despite disclaimers in
international forums, the Government explicitly prohibits independent
unions. There has been no change since the 1992 International Labor
Organization (ILO) finding that independent unions "do not appear to
exist" and its ruling that Cuba violated ILO norms on freedom of
association and the right to organize. Those who attempt to engage in
union activities face government persecution.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Collective bargaining does not exist. The State Committee for Work and
Social Security sets wages and salaries for the state sector. Since all
legal unions are government entities, antiunion discrimination by
definition does not exist. There are no independent unions.
In 1993 the Government removed some of the restrictions on self-
employment imposed in 1968 and allowed people to apply for licenses to
work in over 125 different occupations, expanded to over 160 in 1994.
Besides adding another 20 occupational categories, in 1995 the
Government removed its previous ban on self-employment licenses for
university graduates. However, university graduates cannot get self-
employment licenses for work in their professional field and must remain
employed in their state job to qualify for a self-employment license.
There are no functioning export processing zones in Cuba, although the
new Foreign Investment Law (Law 77), promulgated on September 6,
authorizes the establishment of free trade zones and industrial parks.
Law 77 continued to deny workers the right to contract directly with
foreign companies investing in Cuba. The Government requires foreign
investors to contract workers through state employment agencies which
are paid in foreign currency and, in turn, pay their workers in pesos.
Workers subcontracted by state employment agencies must meet certain
political qualifications. According to Marcos Portal, Minister of Basic
Industry, the state employment agencies consult with the party, the
Confederation of Cuban Workers, and the Union of Communist Youth to
ensure that the workers chosen deserve to work in a joint enterprise.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Neither the Constitution nor the Labor Code prohibit forced labor. The
Government maintains correctional centers where it sends people for
crimes such as dangerousness. They are forced to work on farms or
building sites, usually with no pay and inadequate food. The
authorities often imprison internees who do not cooperate. The
Government employs special groups of workers, known as "microbrigades,"
on loan from other jobs, on special building projects. These
microbrigades have increased importance in the Government's efforts to
complete tourist and other priority projects. Workers who refuse to
volunteer for these jobs often risk discrimination or job loss.
Microbrigade workers, however, reportedly receive priority consideration
for apartments. The military channels some conscripts to the Youth
Labor Army, where they serve their 2-year military service requirement
working on farms which supply both the armed forces and the civilian
population. The ILO's Committee of Experts criticized Cuba for
violating ILO Convention 29 on Forced Labor, based on information
provided by the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions. In response the Cuban state labor
committee in 1993 eliminated "merits and demerits" from workers' labor
records.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The legal minimum working age is 17 years. The Labor Code permits
employment of 15- and 16-year-olds to obtain training or fill labor
shortages. All students over age 11 are expected to devote 30 to 45
days of their summer vacation to farm work, laboring up to 8 hours per
day. The Ministry of Agriculture uses "voluntary labor" by Student Work
Brigades extensively in the farming sector. The law requires school
attendance until the ninth grade, and this law is generally respected.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The minimum wage varies by occupation and is set by the Bureau of Labor
and Social Security. The minimum monthly wage for a maid, for example,
is $6.60 at the unofficial but actual exchange rate of 25 pesos to $1.00
in November 1995 (165 pesos); for a bilingual office clerk, $7.60 (190
pesos); and for a gardener $8.60 (215 pesos). The Government
supplements the minimum wage with free medical care, education, and
subsidized housing and food. Even with these subsidies, however, a
worker must earn far more than the average monthly wage to support a
family. The Government rations most basic necessities such as food,
medicine, clothing, and cooking gas, which are in very short supply, if
available at all.
The standard work week is 44 hours, with shorter workdays in hazardous
occupations such as mining. The Government also reduced the workday in
some governmental offices and state enterprises to save energy.
Workplace environmental and safety controls are usually inadequate, and
the Government lacks effective enforcement mechanisms. The Labor Code
establishes that worker who considers his life in danger because of
hazardous conditions has the right not to work in his position or not to
engage in specific activities until such risks are eliminated.
According to the Labor Code, the worker remains obligated to work
temporarily in whatever other position may be assigned him at a salary
prescribed by law. Industrial accidents apparently are frequent, but
the Government suppresses such reports.
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