The NGO was presented this Wednesday at Florida International University, in Miami.
MIAMI, United States. – The organization DEFENSA CD officially presented itself as an independent institution dedicated to monitoring repression in Cuba and announced the creation of a Religious Freedom Observatory, during an event held this Wednesday night at the Florida Intentionality University (FIU), in Miami.
Before an audience made up of academics, journalists, community leaders, activists and members of the Cuban diaspora, DEFENSA CD announced for the first time its management structure and its new lines of work, as well as “unpublished information on repression in Cuba, including the deterioration inside prisons and the persecution of religious leaders.”
As part of this new stage, the organization announced “the consolidation of its institutional independence, separating itself from the Foundation for Pan American Democracy and the creation of a Religious Freedom Observatory, which will expand its capacity for documentation and analysis on one of the most persecuted sectors in Cuba,” according to a statement sent to CubaNet.
The event included the participation of the rapporteur for Cuba of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), commissioner Stuardo Ralón; the former political prisoner and coordinator of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), José Daniel Ferrer; and the founder of Cuba Decide and elected commissioner of the IACHR, Rosa María Payá.
During his speech, the director of DEFENSA CD, Juan Carlos Vargas, defined the strategic priorities of the organization and highlighted the shift towards its own institutionality.
“DEFENSA CD was born as an independent institution after years of experience as a project of the FDP Complaints Center. Today we present not only a new structure, but also unpublished information about repression in Cuba, including the deterioration inside prisons and the persecution of religious leaders,” stated Vargas. “Our commitment is unwavering: to expose the truth, accompany each victim and provide essential data for international action.”
For his part, Commissioner Stuardo Ralón highlighted the role that these civil society registries can play for international organizations. “The international community must address the systematic repression faced by activists, political prisoners and religious communities in Cuba. Initiatives such as DEFENSA CD provide rigorous and high-value evidence for organizations such as the IACHR, allowing us to demand responsibility from the Cuban regime with solid bases.”
Rosa María Payá, founder of Cuba Decide and elected commissioner of the IACHR, highlighted the political and human dimension of monitoring work. “Cuba is experiencing a serious crisis of political repression and abandonment of the State that causes suffering and death. DEFENSA CD is an essential tool to protect the victims and reveal what is happening within Cuba. From a fully independent institutional identity, the documentation work of DEFENSA CD complements the democratic struggle that Cuba Decide promotes and leads.”
The meeting included a dialogue between the panelists and the presentation of the team that will lead the new institution, with emphasis “on the need to articulate efforts between civil society, victims and international mechanisms to respond to the human rights crisis in Cuba.”
DEFENSA CD will be dedicated to documenting, monitoring and denouncing systematic repression in Cuba, offering support to victims and producing essential information for those who defend human rights, religious freedom and democracy.
The newly created organization specifies that its mission will be to “make visible the repressive reality, protect victims and provide high-quality analysis to the international community, including specialized information on prisons and religious freedom.”
