WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) – Once again, the United States government is trying to condemn Cuba as being one of the worst human rights violators in the world. America is taking her case to Geneva, Mar. 14-Apr. 22, for the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, in hopes of passing a resolution against the island nation.

To bolster her claim, Freedom House, a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that calls itself a clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world, released Mar. 31 its annual list of the world’s most repressive regimes at the UN gathering in Switzerland.

The report, “The Worst of the Worst: The World’s Most Repressive Societies 2005,” lists the worst as Belarus, Burma (Myanmar), China, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

Advertisement
›

According to their released statement, “Significantly, six of the 18 most repressive governments–those of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Zimbabwe–are members of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), representing nearly 11 percent of the 53-member body.”

“Repressive governments enjoying CHR membership work in concert and have successfully subverted the Commission’s mandate,” said Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor.

She added, “Rather than serving as the proper international forum for identifying and publicly censuring the world’s most egregious human rights violators, the CHR instead protects abusers, enabling them to sit in judgment of democratic states that honor and respect the rule of law.”

Soon after the report was released, Cuba responded.

According to Prensa Latin, a newspaper serving Latin America, Cuban President Fidel Castro assured the world that “nothing can be compared to the humanist nature of the Cuban people, as corroborated in its history.”

This history includes saving the lives of countless in the region and the world with free medical care as well as a free medical school education.

“How many Chernobyl children have the U.S. government helped?” the paper reported Pres. Castro as saying. He was recalling the victims of a nuclear accident in the Ukraine region in 1986. Over 18,000 children affected by the catastrophe received specialized medical attention in Cuba. “Those who intend to accuse Cuba at the UN organization cannot refer to a single case of torture or disappearance in the island,” he continued. “They have trained thousands of torturers throughout Latin America, such as Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. They have committed all sorts of terrors.”

Many Cubans and the country’s friends are wondering what it takes to make the list.

“The Commission must represent every United Nations member State and ensure respect for the rights of all men and women worldwide. It is significant, however, that within the UN Commission, during last year’s sessions, it was impossible to evaluate or even debate the atrocious violations of human rights taking place in U.S. prisons in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo,” explained Lazaro Herera, media director of the Cuban Interests Section.

He told The Final Call, “The U.S. has tried for years to pass this resolution and has failed at each attempt. This year, she couldn’t even find another country to co-sponsor it with her. When they did have a co-sponsor, it was only because of blackmail and threats to smaller countries like Poland, Honduras and El Salvador.

“America has been morally defeated. This resolution, if passed, would be a pretext for aggression against Cuba. They need it to justify maintaining the blockade and their aggressive posture against Cuba.”

He added, “Everyone knows the truth about Cuba. The UN has recognized us and we are a member of the Commission on Human Rights. Our people have free health care, free education; they have a right to a social security system. The court of public opinion knows Cuba has made life better for its citizens.”

Cuba is planning protests around the country to highlight America’s injustice with this proposed resolution.

Black nationalist, activist and researcher Bob Brown, who signed a petition in support of Cuba, wrote: “Cuba is an oasis and beacon for human rights in the Americas and in every corner of the world! As a friend of Cuba, we unconditionally and uncompromisingly denounce and demand an end to all forms of U.S. aggression against Cuba! We further denounce the United States government as the greatest violator of human rights, from slavery and the slave trade to neo-globalism and slave-like conditions and practices, the world has ever seen!”

›