Freedom of Expression
Press Release R63/19
OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR PRESENTS SPECIAL REPORT ON THE SITUATION OF FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN CUBA
March 13,
2019
Washington D.C. - The
Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presents a special
report on the situation of freedom of expression in Cuba. This report
contains six main sections, which address the regulatory framework that is at
the root of the human rights violations, as well as a brief analysis of the
aspects of the constitutional reform introduced by the regime itself for debate
in Cuba that refer to the right to freedom of expression. It also addresses
free and independent journalism in Cuba, referring in particular to the public
media, the impossibility of establishing private media, and the practices of
persecution against independent journalists. Since journalists are not the only
ones who have suffered persecution for expressing their ideas in Cuba, also
analyzes the situation of the criminalization of criticism and politically
motivated discrimination against different sectors of the population, such as
human rights defenders, artists, political dissidents, and others. Also, the
report addresses the protests and social demonstrations. The last part of the
report refers to limitations on the right to freedom of expression on the
Internet and addresses obstacles in the regulation of the use of networks and
communication on the web, connectivity problems and universal access, content
blocking and censorship, and surveillance. Finally, based on the analysis of
these issues, the Office of the Special Rapporteur presents its conclusions and
recommendations to the Cuban State.
For more than half a century,
Cuba has been a State governed by a single party that obstructs all avenues of
political dissent. The State severely restricts the rights to freedom of
expression, association, assembly, freedom of movement, and due process. For
decades the Cuban State has organized the institutional machinery to silence
voices outside the regime, and to repress independent journalists, as well as
artists or citizens who try to organize themselves to articulate their demands;
in all that time the State has maintained a monopoly over the media. As the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the Special
Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression have noted, open debate on ideas and on
central aspects of national life has been suppressed.
As the Inter-American
Commission has pointed out, this is presented in a context of serious disregard
for the essential elements of representative democracy and its institutions.
Historically, the IACHR has been critical of the absence of conditions that
would allow genuine political participation by sectors with diverse lines of
thought in Cuba; in particular, the holding of elections lacking plurality and
independence, with insurmountable obstacles that prevent free access to
multiple sources of information. The voice of opposition to the government, in
its attempts to express itself and participate in the conduct of the country’s
affairs, ends up being suppressed in the presence of a single party, the
prohibition against association for political purposes, and arbitrary restrictions
on freedom of expression and the right of assembly, among other fundamental
rights.
For decades, Cuba has
remained among the countries in the hemisphere with the worst conditions and
least favorable environment for the exercise of the right to freedom of
expression. Practicing journalism in Cuba was not even close to a situation
comparable to any other country in the region. This is due to the serious risks
faced by journalists and other population groups seeking to express opinions,
the lack of access to public and official government information, the fear of
the population and of those who may potentially be journalists’ sources of
information, among other multiple obstacles.
El The control of freedom
of expression and political freedoms has been ongoing for almost five decades,
but there have been some emblematic episodes of repression such as the one that
occurred in March 2003, when people identified as "counterrevolutionaries" for
their thinking were arrested en masse.
In recent years, the IACHR
and its Office of the Special Rapporteur have continued to receive troubling
information about illegitimate restrictions on freedom of expression in Cuba.
Of particular concern is the continuing rise in selective and deliberate
persecution of independent media and organizations that disseminate information
and opinions on matters of public interest outside the control of the State.
The acts and threats by authorities and public officials to intimidate anyone
expressing critical ideas about the country’s politics and institutions, such
as activists, artists, journalists, human rights defenders, and intellectuals,
among others, are also very serious.
At present, the intolerance
of the Cuban authorities toward any form of criticism or opposition continues
to be the main limitation on the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of
expression and association in Cuba. The de facto change of government of
the Presidency of the Council of State and Ministers from Raúl Castro to Miguel
Díaz-Canel in 2018 had also created expectations of positive steps in the area
of human rights. So far, however, the new government has generally shown itself
to be a continuation of the former regime in terms of repressing the exercise
of freedom of expression in Cuba. Of grave concern is the fact that, shortly
after taking office, Diaz-Canel announced that he would maintain a position
against press freedom and the legalization of independent media in the country.
Most troubling is the fact
that, even in recent times, there has been an increase in repression and
intolerance in order to discourage journalism that does not toe the official
line, the work of human rights defenders, and criticism voiced by dissidents,
as discussed in detail below. For years, repression in Cuba was characterized
by maintaining a veneer of legality, which included prosecution indictments,
the appointment of public defenders, judicial proceedings, and/or final
convictions. Although some of these practices continue, there are variations
that seem to be aimed at leaving neither legal traces nor documentation that
can be used as evidence of the abuses suffered. During the 169th Session of the
IACHR, several journalists in attendance, and others through previously
recorded statements, reported what they called a repression of "attrition" that
avoids prosecution. These forms of repression are said to include arrests and
humiliating interrogations, particularly of women journalists; detentions of up
to 72 hours without a warrant or judicial communication; pressures on their
families and those around them; confiscation of equipment and theft of
materials from journalists; as well as travel bans to keep journalists and
activists from leaving the country.
The current model
reportedly follows a rationale that is separate from the legal structures,
based on State Security or para-State structures that may be more subtle but
equally serious in light of international law. In addition to the traditional
tools used to repress independent journalism, forms of repression have been
reported such as threats to bring criminal action based on the criminal offense
of "impersonation of a public official and acting without legal capacity"
against those who practice journalism in non-state media and, more recently,
the imposition of "aptitude tests" for admission to the journalism program at
the State University.
In this context, the Office
of the Special Rapporteur also took note of the process of constitutional
reform that took place in Cuba. The information available indicates that, at the
end of July 2018, the "Draft Constitution of the Republic of Cuba" was
published. The IACHR in a press release dated March 4, 2019, reported that the
reform process was concluded with the referendum held on February 24, 2019. On
this occasion, the Commission expressed its concern, among others, regarding
the possibility that the referendum may not have
complied with the conditions necessary for free, secret, reliable, independent
elections that safeguard the principles of universality and plurality.
The Office of the Special
Rapporteur considers that Cuba’s development and openness is closely linked to
the indispensable return to democracy and respect for human rights. In that
regard, respect for human rights, freedom of expression, and respect for political
rights, together with the holding of free elections based on secret and
universal suffrage are essential elements of democracy. Freedom of expression
accompanies the person as one of the most precious freedoms because it allows
each individual to think about the world from his or her own perspective and
choose his or her own lifestyle, as well as to build pluralistic societies. For
this reason, since the beginning of the current administration, the Office of
the Special Rapporteur has given priority attention to the situation in Cuba.
To that end, the report analyzes the situation of freedom of expression in Cuba
in the light of the standards of the inter-American system and, on that basis,
offers recommendations to the State that will enable it to contribute to the
effective exercise of this right in the country.
The Office of the Special
Rapporteur concluded that Cuba continues to be the only country in the
hemisphere where there are no guarantees for the exercise of the right to
freedom of expression. A State in which there is a persistent and serious
failure to observe the essential elements of freedom of expression,
representative democracy, and its institutions. Despite the years that have
passed and the repeated recommendations in this regard, intolerance continues
to be the norm for the Cuban authorities towards all forms of criticism or
opposition, and the main limitation to fundamental rights and freedoms in Cuba.
The State continues to have
a monopoly on the media, and it is still against the law to establish private
media, all of which is incompatible with international standards on freedom of
expression. The selective and deliberate persecution of independent media and
journalists continues, and even intensifies at times. This persecution—carried
out by State bodies or tolerated by the State—takes the form of arbitrary
detentions, threats, and acts of harassment or censorship against journalists
who disseminate ideas, opinions, and information critical of the ruling party.
It is also reflected in the multiple acts and threats by authorities and public
servants to intimidate anyone who expresses critical ideas about the country’s
politics and institutions, such as artists, human rights defenders, political
dissidents, and others.
Today’s repressive
practices seem to be based on a rationale that is outside the legal framework,
but they are far from disappearing. On the contrary, they are strongly
replicated in the new media. With respect to the Internet, the extremely
restrictive and ambiguous legal provisions, the limited connectivity of the
Cuban population, the blocking and censorship of critical media, and
surveillance seriously impede the exercise of the rights to freedom of
expression and privacy on the Internet.
The Cuban legal system—from
the Constitution itself, to the legal and regulatory provisions outlined in the
report—is designed to repress dissent and criticism. Thus, in the opinion of
the Office of the Special Rapporteur, the main problem with current legislation
is its overtly repressive approach to freedom of expression. Far from
protecting the exercise of freedom of expression and other fundamental rights
and freedoms, it provides the State with legal tools to repress it. It also
facilitates serious discrimination on political grounds in the exercise of
human rights, since anyone who thinks or wants to express themselves
differently from the socialist regime cannot exercise their rights without
repression.
The Office of the Special
Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression was created by the IACHR to encourage the
defense of the right to freedom of thought and expression in the hemisphere,
given the fundamental role this right plays in consolidating and developing the
democratic system.
R63/19