[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 81 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 81
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 28, 2005
Received and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the two-year anniversary of
the human rights crackdown in Cuba.
Whereas in March 2003, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro arrested more than 75
journalists, labor union organizers, civic leaders, librarians, and
human rights activists as political prisoners;
Whereas the Cuban regime, after summary trials which were denounced by the
international community, sentenced these innocent men and women to a
total of more than
1,000 years in prison for trying to exercise their civil and political
rights, many of whom are anticipated to die in prison before their sentence
is completed;
Whereas the Charter of the United Nations reaffirms a commitment to fundamental
human rights and to the dignity and worth of all people;
Whereas the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which establishes global
human rights standards, asserts that all human beings are born free and
equal in dignity and rights, and that no one shall be subjected to
arbitrary arrest or detention;
Whereas these arrests and convictions were an atrocious attempt by the Cuban
regime to crush the citizens' movements for a free and democratic Cuba;
Whereas Fidel Castro has tentatively released a limited number of prisoners from
jail but these political activists are subject to arrest and
imprisonment at any time pursuant to ``extra penal licenses'';
Whereas in 2004, the Cuban regime continued its suppression of democracy and
repression of human rights activists, imprisoning a significant number
of political dissidents during the year on such charges as disrespect
for authority, public disorder, disobedience, and resisting arrest;
Whereas in April 2004, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted a
resolution deploring the sentencing of ``political dissidents and
journalists'' in 2003 and calling for a visit to Cuba by a Personal
Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights which was later
denied by the Cuban regime;
Whereas Fidel Castro continues to hold hundreds of political prisoners in his
jail cells;
Whereas Amnesty International has recognized all journalists and activists who
were arrested in the crackdown in March 2003 as prisoners of conscience;
Whereas the Cuban regime engages in torture and other cruel, inhumane, and
degrading treatment and punishment against political prisoners to force
them into submission, including intense beatings, extended periods of
solitary confinement, and denial of nutritional and medical attention,
according to the Department of State's Country Report on Human Rights
2004;
Whereas religious freedom in Cuba is severely circumscribed, and clergy and lay
people suffer sustained persecution by the Cuban State Security
apparatus;
Whereas the Cuban regime denies the people of Cuba equal protection under the
law, disallows them recourse for remedying violations of human rights
and civil liberties, and instead enforces a judicial system which
infringes upon fundamental rights; and
Whereas the United States Congress has stood, consistently, on the side of the
Cuban people and supported their right to be free: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) condemns in the strongest possible terms the arrest of
more than 75 journalists, labor union organizers, civic
leaders, librarians, and human rights activists as political
prisoners in March 2003 and the Cuban regime's continuing
repressive crackdown against the brave internal opposition and
the independent press;
(2) expresses its profound admiration and firm solidarity
with the internal opposition and independent press of Cuba;
(3) demands that the Cuban regime immediately release all
political prisoners, legalize all political parties, labor
unions, and the press, and hold free and fair elections;
(4) declares the acts of the Cuban regime, including its
widespread and systematic violation of human rights, to be in
violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
(5) declares that the rule of law should replace the rule
of force so that the fundamental and inalienable rights of
every individual in Cuba are protected;
(6) calls for the European Union, as well as other
countries and international organizations, to continue to
pressure the Cuban regime to improve its human rights record;
and
(7) calls for United Nations member countries to vote
against the Cuban regime's membership in the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights and the passage of a resolution at
the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights that holds the Cuban regime accountable for its gross
violations of human rights and civil liberties.
Passed the House of Representatives April 27, 2005.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.