MIAMI, United States. – From March 16 to 21, Cuban activists Alain Espinosa, lawyer for Cubalex; Frisia Batista, coordinator of the Cuban Women’s Network; and Darcy Borrero, a member of the Justice 11J working group, denounced in Geneva, Switzerland, and Brussels, Belgium, the human rights violations on the Island, especially after the peaceful protests of July 2021 (11J).
According to a statement sent to CubaNet by the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality)the three activists met with representatives of the United Nations, the European Union and civil society organizations in Europe, with whom they discussed the increase in femicidesthe lack of a comprehensive law against gender violence, the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review of 2018 not fulfilled by the Cuban State, the migration crisis, food shortages, internet cuts, the repression of human rights defenders, short-term forced disappearances, and people deprived of their liberty for political reasons on the Island.
“Making the human rights situation visible to these bodies is of crucial importance in the search for effective mechanisms to demand compliance with the obligations of the Government of Cuba, and guarantee respect for individual liberties of citizens,” Espinosa said, according to the report. Race and Equality statement.
The coordinator of the Cuban Women’s Network, for her part, assured that the organization she represents requested recommendations from the international community at the United Nations and the European Parliament so that the Cuban State soon approves a law against gender violence.
“This status of law would create the bases to implement a comprehensive system of prevention and care that is really effective for citizens,” Batista said.
During the meetings that took place in Geneva and Brussels, the activists also referred to the more than 1,800 people who have been detained after the 9/11 protests.
Of this number, according to Borrero, more than 600 Cuban men and women still remain in prison. “It is important that in Europe and in any other part of the world it is known that there are human rights defenders pending the situation of political prisoners in Cuba, and that this reality is put on the agenda,” he commented.
For its part, Race and Equality called on the international community to demand that the Cuban State recognize the fundamental rights of each person residing on the Island, regardless of their political position, religious belief, skin color , sexual orientation and gender identity.
“From Raza e Igualdad we will continue promoting actions to denounce the violations of human rights that are registered on the Island, and to improve the living conditions of Cubans,” the statement ended.
