The Cubans residing abroad may continue to send their criteria and recommendations on the draft Family Code until next April 30 through the Nation and Emigration website, official media on the Island reported.
Ernesto Soberón, general director of Consular Affairs and Attention to Cubans Resident Abroad of the Island’s Foreign Ministry, confirmed that this possibility remains open and pointed out through his Twitter account that “every opinion counts,” according to a report of the Prensa Latina (PL) agency.
Until April 30, the interface on the Nation and Emigration website will remain active so that all Cubans residing abroad who wish to do so can send their criteria on the project of the #CodeOfTheFamilies.
Every opinion counts #VamosConTodo ?? pic.twitter.com/NViobDmn61
– Ernesto Soberón (@SoberonGuzman) April 14, 2022
Between February and April of this year, the draft of the new Code was submitted to popular consultation, considered by specialists “as revolutionary, in tune with the reality of the country and in defense of the rights of all segments of the population,” says the medium, which details that the regulations include issues such as the flow of travelers and the transnationality of the Cuban family and proposes greater inclusion.
The agency recalls that in the Nation and Emigration web portal there is an interface that allows the sending of comments and proposals for modifications of the text, both from desktop computers and mobile devices, and nationals who are outside the country can write as many times as they deem necessary.
In a meeting with the press, Soberón clarified that for this the immigration status of the person does not matter, since the only validation that is carried out is to verify that it is a Cuban, the source points out.
The contributions of the compatriots will contribute to the collective creation of a Code that seeks “unity, respect for human dignity, equality and the protection of the most vulnerable,” said the official, quoted by PL.
For its part, the Special Electoral Commission established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) He announced days ago the conclusion of the consultation process between the personnel of the diplomatic headquarters and the Cubans in other official missions abroad.
In this sense, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez emphasized that 26,740 voters participated in the process. “The 14,665 interventions and 13,191 proposals made will enrich this transcendental norm,” wrote the head of Foreign Affairs on his Twitter account.
Following consultation of the draft Code, the National Assembly of People’s Power (Parliament) must approve a new version –with the modifications derived from this process–, which must go to a referendum in the second half of this year.
The Family Code is, among the around 70 legal norms that must be approved or updated as a result of the new Constitution, the only one that will be submitted to a referendum before becoming law. This fact has caused the disagreement of people and social sectors such as the LGBTIQ+ community, in disagreement that the rights of minority groups have to be endorsed by the entire population of the country.
Meanwhile, other sectors, especially linked to religious practices and beliefs, are opposed to the new proposal becoming law, since it would open the door to a future approval of same-sex marriage by not defining in its letter a unique composition for the Cuban family.
The government, for its part, defends the new text and promotes its dissemination and popular approval, considering that it is inclusive and advanced, that it expands the enjoyment of the rights related to the subject among all people and that it more accurately reflects the social and family reality of the Island.
