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HUMAN RIGHTS: Cuba on Tenterhooks in UN Commission

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Apr 16 2003 (IPS) - The outcome of the vote on the Cuban situtation by the United Nations’ maximum human rights body was postponed Wednesday, though it is evident that it will take place amidst high diplomatic tensions. Cuban issidents say that regardless of the vote results, little will change on the island.

The debate in the U.N. Commission on Human Rights underwent a radical shift within a matter of hours as a result of reactions from Latin American and European delegations to the recent crackdown on dissidents and the execution of three hijackers on the Caribbean island.

Until Wednesday the discussion on Cuba had revolved around an initiative authored by Costa Rica, Peru and Uruguay that called upon Havana to receive French jurist Christine Chanet, special rapporteur of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, whose mandate is to conduct a field assessment of the Cuban situation.

The text of the three Latin American countries, presented just after the Commission began its annual six-week sessions Mar. 17, has been described in diplomatic circles as "harmless" and even "accommodating" with regards to Cuba.

But since mid-March, the Cuban authorities rounded up some 75 members of the political opposition, which although illegal had been tolerated by the government. The dissidents were then subjected to summary trials and given harsh prison sentences, of up to 28 years.

And then last Friday, again after "extreme" summary trials, three men found guilty of hijacking a passenger ferry in a bid to flee to the United States were executed by firing squad.

While the dissident movement on the island considers a U.N. Commission censure of the Cuban government a certainty, there is consensus that it would have little impact on the status of human rights in that country, due to the existing "political polarisation".

Opposition activist Manuel Cuesta Morúa told IPS he thinks the fact that the crackdown on Cuban dissidents and the execution of the hijackers coincided with the Commission’s session is a sign of the Castro government’s scorn for the U.N. human rights body.

"It is also a way to disparage the international community" for not agreeing with the Cuban government’s view of the world, said Cuesta Morúa, who pointed out that there are human rights controversies worldwide.

"I don’t see why, then, Cuba can’t be part of that controversy," said the activist, a representative of the is moderate opposition’s panel for dialogue inside Cuba, and supporter of the notion that the United States should withdraw from the human rights debate in Geneva.

Just hours before the U.N. Commission vote was to take place Wednesday, Costa Rica withdrew from the "moderately-worded" motion and introduced an amendment that has the backing of the European Union and the United States.

The new Costa Rican text proposes the inclusion of a paragraph in the resolution on Cuba that expresses "deep concern" about the recent events on the island and that urges the Fidel Castro government to release the 75 detainees immediately.

Cuba responded straight away with a proposed counter-amendment, that includes two paragraphs for the resolution.

The first demands an immediate end to the "unilateral and illegal" blockade against Cuba that the United States has maintained for nearly four decades. The second calls on the U.N. to study the effects of "terrorist acts" against Cuba launched from U.S. territory.

A procedural hitch forced the postponement of debate on the new initiatives until Thursday. A Commission regulation stipulates that a resolution proposal may only be put up for discussion 24 hours after its presentation.

The untimely filing of the new drafts caused confusion, which led some countries – like the United States – to simultaneously support the initiative introduced weeks ago by the three Latin American countries and the new Costa Rican amendment.

When Cuba, amidst smiles from several Commission delegates, noted the contradictory stance of the U.S. delegation, Washington envoy Kevin E. Moley responded that his country would support "anything" that demonstrates the hypocrisy of the Cuban government.

The debate maintained that biting tone. Cuba charged that the Commission "lacks credibility and prestige" because in 50 years it has never issued a condemnation against an industrialised country, "as if they never violated" human rights, thus victimising the nations of the developing world.

The authors of the original draft resolution on Cuba – Costa Rica, Peru and Uruguay – "have played the role of lackeys, serving the interests of the United States," said envoy Juan Antonio Fernández Palacios, head of the Cuban foreign ministry’s multilateral affairs.

Uruguay broke off diplomatic ties with Cuba last year, in the wake of Havana’s reactions to Montevideo’s vote in favour of a similar moderate resolution on the Castro government’s human rights record.

Fernández defended last week’s three executions because the punishment "was applied to terrorists and hijackers" according to Cuban law.

Those who hijack aircraft or boats in Cuba are just as much terrorists, said the diplomat, as those who hijack airplanes to crash them into the Twin Towers in New York.

He agreed to comment on the distancing by international personalities – such as Portuguese writer and Nobel laureate José Saramago – from the Cuban regime that occurred as a result the executions.

"We hope that our friends, who are many in all parts of the world, understand our reasons when the truth becomes to come out," said Fernández.

Havana’s envoy added that his government supports the statements made by Argentina’s President Eduardo Duhalde, who said Tuesday that his country’s delegation to the Commission on Human Rights would abstain from the vote on Cuba.

Latin American sources said that of the 11 countries from the region that are on the 53-member body, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay would vote in favour of a resolution critical of Cuba’s human rights record.

Expected to vote against or abstain are Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Paraguay and Venezuela.

The Castro government issued a statement Tuesday night saying, "Condemning us in Geneva based on flagrant pressure (on Commission members) is what the owners of the world have been during for nearly 15 years," and accuses the United States of engaging in "all sorts of blackmail" to put Havana in the dock once more.

"The empire (United States) has created in Geneva an atmosphere of full persecution and terror against diplomats of the Commission’s member countries," says the communiqué, which also says the European Union has been servile in supporting the "clumsy manoeuvre of the United States" to condemn Cuba.

In contrast to the delay on the Cuban question, the U.N. Commission took a significant decision in rejecting a European proposal to censure Russia for the human rights situation in Chechnya.

The war in that autonomous republic, which declared its independence in 1991, has claimed thousands of lives. Most of the Muslim population wants independence from Russia, which reclaimed control over the territory in 1999.

What was noteworthy about the vote Wednesday was that Islamic countries on the Commission on Human Rights voted against the European initiative, which sought to censure Russia for violations committed by its armed forces against Chechen civilians.

The resolution was rejected, with 21 votes against, 15 in favour and 17 abstentions.

International human rights organisations report that Russian troops have raided Chechen villages, looting local businesses and carrying out arbitrary arrests.

Meanwhile, another resolution sponsored by the European Union was approved. The text denouncing the systematic and serious violations of human rights in North Korea received 28 votes in favour, 10 against and 14 abstentions.

(* IPS Havana correspondent Patricia Grogg contributed to this report.)