By Gustavo Capdevila
GENEVA, Mar 16 2004 (IPS)

Cuba denounced the inclusion of an alleged terrorist in the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, stirring up the existing tensions just as its annual sessions are getting under way this week in Geneva.

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said that Luis Zúñiga Rey, a Cuban residing in the U.S. city of Miami, appeared on Tuesday as a member of the U.S. delegation.

The foreign minister maintains that Zúñiga belonged to a clandestine arm of the anti-Castro Cuban American National Foundation, which operates out of Miami.

Zúñiga’s participation in covert activities was mentioned in a 1999 report by the special rapporteur on mercenaries, Peruvian Enrique Bernales Ballesteros, designated by the Commission on Human Rights itself.

Pérez Roque said that Zúñiga recruited people to carry out sabotage missions in Cuba by circulating counterfeit Cuban peso bills and that he had contacted potential candidates to attack Cuba’s tourism industry.

Ivan Mora Godoy, Cuban representative to the international organisations based in Geneva, presented the statement on Zúñiga to the current chair of the Commission, Mike Smith, of Australia, and requested immediate action from the body’s authorities "to avoid a flagrant violation of its rules."

Zúñiga’s presence represents a concession by the U.S. government to the pressure from the anti-Castro "extremists" in Miami during an electoral year, said Cuba’s chief diplomat.

Cuba and the United States, habitual rivals in the debates of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, opened fire shortly after the annual six-week sessions of its 53 member countries began.

Paula J. Dobriansky, U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Global Affairs, urged the Commission to "take seriously the mandate we have been given and stand up for those around the world who yearn for liberty, like the Burmese and Cuban people."

But the United States was not the only one to target Cuba for criticism.

"Almost exactly a year ago, Cuba – after large scale arrests and summary trials- sentenced some citizens to executions in clear violation of U.N. minimum standards," said Leila Freivalds, Sweden’s foreign affairs minister.

The Paris-based press freedoms watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF, Reporters Sans Frontières) issued a statement this week that Cuba and China "are the two biggest prisons in the world for journalists." The organisation also criticised Saudi Arabia for its severe censorship and Zimbabwe for "doing all it can do to stamp out the independent press."

The U.N. withdrew RSF’s consultative NGO (non-governmental organisation) status after the group staged a protest in the meeting hall during last year’s sessions of the Commission on Human Rights. The group condemned the fact that the Commission had granted the chairmanship last year to Libya, charging that the country "abuses human rights every day."

The Commission dedicates the first four days of its sessions to what is known as the High-Level Segment, with participation by ministers and other high-level officials, who generally use the opportunity to make doctrinaire speeches.

But this year several speakers dedicated their words to criticisms against specific countries, something that normally does not occur until the end of the period of sessions in April.

The Swedish minister appealed to the Commission to pay attention to human rights violations in Zimbabwe and stressed that in China "serious human rights problems are still prevalent.

"The situation in Iran continues to be a matter of great concern… (as do) the ongoing violations of human rights and humanitarian law in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians," said Freivalds.

The case of Iran also was cited by Germany’s Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who said the country lacks guarantees for its citizens’ basic rights and fundamental freedoms.

He also mentioned the human rights "deficiencies" in China, with respect to the death penalty, the imposition of so-called "administrative custody", and the treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, particularly in Tibet.

Under the Chinese system of administrative custody, says the human rights group Amnesty International, police or local authorities can arbitrarily arrest citizens, who then may remain in prison for years without trial, are often tortured and live in deplorable conditions.

Some developing countries objected to the direction that the sessions were taking with the human rights situations of particular nations being discussed so early in the game.

Pakistani delegate Shaukat Umer, speaking on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, warned that "country-specific resolutions are the primary source of confrontations" during sessions.

"Most of these resolutions are critical of Islamic and developing countries, imparting a stark North-South dimension to our debate," he said.

Complaints from developing countries also forced the rejection of a resolution proposed by the chairman to cut back on the time allowed for presentations.

Cuban delegate Juan Antonio Fernández Palacios told the plenary that the past three have seen a 30 percent reduction in the time allotted for speeches.

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