[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 179 Engrossed in House (EH)]
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
April 8, 2003.
Whereas the Cuban Government continues to repress all peaceful attempts by the
Cuban people to bring democratic change to the island by denying
universally recognized liberties, including freedom of speech, assembly,
association, movement and of the press;
Whereas on March 9, 2003, many of Cuba's prominent dissidents issued a statement
titled ``Joint Statement'' to the European Union, wherein they
reaffirmed their view of the Cuban Government's ``total vocation to
immobility and its refusal to respect internationally recognized human
rights or accept the existence of legitimate political opposition'' and
further stated that ``in recent times the Cuban Government has
intensified its political and social repression'';
Whereas commencing on March 17, 2003, the Cuban Government carried out a
massive, island wide crackdown on members of Cuba's pro-democracy
movement, which included the arrest of over 80 dissidents, among them
many who signed the ``Joint Statement'', activists of the Assembly to
Promote Civil Society, promoters of the Varela Project, independent
journalists, and numerous members of Cuba's nascent independent civil
society;
Whereas the Cuban Government arbitrarily searched the homes and confiscated
personal items belonging to pro-democracy activists;
Whereas independent journalists were among those incarcerated in this massive
crackdown, including Raul Rivero, known as the dean of the dissident
independent journalists in Cuba;
Whereas independent librarians, who make their homes available so that the Cuban
population may have access to publications otherwise censored by the
Cuban Government, also became victims of repression, as many were
arrested, their homes ransacked and searched, and publications and other
belongings confiscated;
Whereas Marta Beatriz Roque, and other leaders of the ``Assembly to Promote
Civil Society'', an islandwide movement seeking to coordinate the
various sectors of Cuba's nascent independent civil society who work for
a democratic transition, were incarcerated and face lengthy sentences,
including life sentences;
Whereas activists who have collected or signed petitions for the Varela Project
were also incarcerated in this crackdown and may also face life
sentences;
Whereas more than 80 pro-democracy leaders who work for a peaceful transition to
democracy in Cuba have been incarcerated and sentenced under ``Law 88''
and ``Law 91'', two draconian totalitarian laws that call for long
sentences of 10, 15, or 20 years, or life imprisonment, or even death
for pro-democracy activity;
Whereas there is concern for the well-being and safety for all of Cuba's
political prisoners, particularly Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leyva, who is a
blind human rights activist incarcerated since March of 2002 without
being formally charged, and Leonardo Bruzon Avila, who has been denied
medical attention according to Amnesty International, despite the
effects of a prolonged hunger strike while in prison.;
Whereas a plea for solidarity was made from within the notoriously harsh prison
in Cuba known as ``Combinado del Este'' and signed by 21 political
prisoners, among them Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Francisco Chaviano, Rafael
Ibarra, and Jorge Luis Garcia Perez ``Antunez'' to the member states of
the 59th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission;
Whereas the Cuban Government has carried out ``summary trials'' to expeditiously
sentence pro-democracy leaders to try to intimidate and silence other
pro-democracy activists on the island, while world attention is
primarily focused on Iraq;
Whereas the Castro regime has engaged in mass arrests of dissidents while the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights, of which Cuba is a member, is
meeting in Geneva;
Whereas certain member countries of the Latin American and Caribbean group
(GRULAC) at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights are currently
drafting a resolution on the violations of human rights by the Cuban
Government;
Whereas the Cuban Government has repeatedly violated the rights enshrined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Inter-American Convention on
Human Rights, and other international and regional human rights
agreements, and has violated the mandates issued by the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights;
Whereas foreign diplomats and members of the international press have been
barred by the Cuban Government from being present at the ``summary
trials''; and
Whereas pro-democracy leaders on the island have come together to call for the
immediate release of all Cuban political prisoners, and are requesting
international solidarity with the internal opposition, as reflected in a
March 31, 2003, statement signed by some of the most prominent
dissidents on the island: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the brutal crackdown of the Cuban Government on the
island's peaceful pro-democracy movement;
(2) calls for the immediate release of all Cuban political
prisoners;
(3) supports the right of the Cuban people to exercise fundamental
political and civil liberties, including freedom of expression,
assembly, association, movement, press, and the right to multiparty
elections;
(4) calls on the United States Permanent Representative to the
United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva,
Switzerland, to work with the member countries of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights to ensure a resolution that includes the
strongest possible condemnation of the current crackdown of dissidents
and of the gross human rights violations committed by the Cuban
Government; and
(5) calls on the Latin American and Caribbean group (GRULAC) at the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights to exclude Cuba from its slate
of candidates for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and
urges all member nations to oppose renewing Cuba's membership on the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights until the Government of Cuba
adheres to international human rights standards, such as those
delineated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Attest:
Clerk.