Organizations warn that maintaining a diplomatic framework with Havana without demanding reforms “disconnects to the European Union of Cuban citizens.”
Miami, United States. – A wide group of Cuban organizations sent Thursday A letter Marianne Van Steen, Chief of Division for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean of the European External Action Service (Seae), to demand the substantive review and replacement of the Agreement of Political Dialogue and Cooperation (ADPC) between the European Union and Cuba, as well as the adoption of individual sanctions under the European Magnitsky Law. The letter responds to a communication of July 24 aimed at the NGO Citizenship and Freedom in which the ADPC defends in its current form.
Organizations argue that the “advances” cited by the SEAE – as the increase in high -level contacts, the partial development of the private sector, the limited acceptance of recommendations in the United Nations or isolated releases – “do not constitute structural improvements in human rights, democracy or rule of law” and, in reality, are “tactical and reversible concessions.” They add that independent civil society remains excluded, political prisoners increase and fundamental freedoms are criminalized.
The text warns that maintaining a diplomatic framework without demanding reforms “disconnects to the European Union of Cuban citizens” and “contributes to perpetuating impunity”, so it asks for measures of international responsibility, including individual sanctions under the Magnitsky Law to responsible for human rights violations already conglomerates military-companies that hold them.
The letter also states that these structures have been used to help Russia evade sanctions in Europe through diplomatic and propaganda actions, and that the Cuban State supported the Russian war machinery facilitating the transfer of At least 7,000 Cuban combatantswhat – he stands – reinforces the urgency of a proportional and coherent European response.
As axes of a renewed policy towards Cuba, the organizations propose, first, to establish clear, verifiable and binding parameters of democratic conditionality, starting with the unconditional liberation of all political prisoners and for the explicit recognition of that condition in European official communication. “The use of ambiguous expressions such as ‘detainees’ invisible the political nature of their imprisonment and runs the risk of validating the official discourse of the regime.” Secondly, they ask to place the victims in the center with effective accountability mechanisms, including magnitsky sanctions to individuals and conglomerates; third, institutionalize the participation of independent civil society in the human rights dialogue and in cooperation; and, fourth, to reinforce transparency and control of the use of European funds to avoid capture by structures related to power.
To “bring these requests beyond words”, the signatories request a face -to -face meeting in Brussels before the next EU -Cuba joint council and declare themselves willing to facilitate complete files on repressors.
The letter was signed by organizations inside and outside the island, including the ladies of Blanco (Berta Soler and Aymara Nieto), the Independent Trade Union Association of Cuba (Iván Hernández Carrillo), Archive Cuba (María Werlau), Center for Free Cuba (John Suárez), the Cuban Resistance Assembly (Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat), Cuba Central Nenth. The magazine’s gender observatory Tense wings (Ileana Álvarez), the Women’s Network of Cuba (Elena Larrinaga) and the Patmos Institute (Yoaxis Marcheco), in addition to European and diaspora groups. The signatories underline that support is “broad and sustained.”
At the close, they reiterate their willingness to collaborate with the SEAE and the Member States and appeal to the fact that the European Union “is unequivocally located on the side of Cuban citizenship that risks their life in defense of freedom, democracy and justice.”
