The IACHR and Its Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression Condemn Persistent Repression Against Journalists and Civil Society in Cuba

February 21, 2024

Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and its Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression are concerned about reports of persistent repression against civil society organizations and independent media in Cuba. The IACHR and its Special Rapporteurship urge the State to end harassment against these organizations and to respect and protect freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

In 2024 so far, civil society organizations have reported to the IACHR almost 300 acts of repression against human rights activists and defenders, political dissidents, journalists, independent artists, and relatives of individuals who are currently deprived of liberty for political reasons. These acts of repression include arbitrary arrests, physical violence and medical negligence for people who are deprived of liberty, house arrests, threats and coercion, selective cuts in Internet and other communication services, restrictions of internal movement, police summons, and interrogations that fail to comply with the applicable judicial guarantees.

The IACHR and its Special Rapporteurship note that this situation happens in the context of a crackdown on freedom of association and expression in Cuba and of an increase in violence in the actions of the State's law enforcement agencies. According to public complaints issued by civil society organizations, there were many victims of physical violence at the hands of State law enforcement agencies over the period 2018–2023. Of these victims, 95 allegedly died as a result of State actions or omissions, most of them while in State custody in incarceration facilities.

As it did in its 2020 report Situation of Human Rights in Cuba and in its 2021 and 2022 annual reports, the IACHR stresses that activists, dissidents, and human rights defenders in the country are being subjected to criminalization, judicial persecution, and violence aimed at discouraging criticism of the government, hampering free expression, and preventing the defense and promotion of human rights and the emergence of new leaders.

These actions particularly affect the organizations and media who are not aligned with State ideology and policy, who face silencing and inhibition to discourage all critical stances and have caused even forced exiles of journalists and activists who fear retaliation.

The Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression continues to note a State policy that seeks to control the flow of information and severely restricts civic space and access to information for Cuban society. Independent journalists and media face a hostile environment complete with legal restrictions and repression for reporting critically about government actions. This hostile environment includes fines and other forms of punishment, harassment and police surveillance in private homes, and intimidating interrogation.

The Commission and its Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression stress that freedom of association and expression is a fundamental, inalienable right inherent to all individuals that is an essential element of all democratic societies. The IACHR and its Special Rapporteurship therefore call on the State to take immediate action to ensure a safe, supportive environment for the exercise of freedom of association and expression and of freedom of the press, which requires putting an end to judicial persecution and all other repressive practices. The Commission and its Special Rapporteurship also call on the State to release all individuals who are currently deprived of liberty for their work in defense of human rights or for adopting a stance that is critical of government policies.

The Special Rapporteurship for Freedom of Expression is an office created by the IACHR to promote the defense of the right to freedom of thought and expression in the Americas, considering the fundamental role that right plays in the consolidation and development of all democratic systems.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 038/24

9:00 AM