The Cuban Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva lashed out at UN Watch and Rosa Maria Paya after she called for member states to remove Cuba from the Human Rights Council during Cuba’s UPR review.
Full Remarks:
My name is Rosa María Payá, our citizens’ initiative Cuba Decide defends the right of the Cuban people to live in democracy, a right that is denied by the constitution imposed by the leaders in my country.
Mr. President, Cuba should be expelled from this council for its gross and systematic violations of human rights.
In April 2022, Russia was expelled from this Council. Today we officially call for the same to be done with Cuba, under Article 8 of UN Resolution 60/251. The government of Cuba is an ally of Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine and facilitates the sending of young Cubans to the Russian army.
The Cuban government employs state terrorism against its citizens, using the following methods:
1. The government extrajudicially executes its opponents: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ruled that the Cuban state is responsible for the assassination of my father Oswaldo Paya, a Cuban democratic leader, and Harold Cepero.
2. The government represses, imprisons, and tortures those who think differently: There are more than 1000 people in prison in Cuba for publicly expressing their opinions. Among them is Jose Daniel Ferrer, an opposition leader who is systematically tortured and in danger of death.
3. The government violates fundamental human rights and prevents Cubans from prospering from the fruits of their labor, forcing the people into a deep humanitarian crisis.
Despite the imposed hunger and repression, hundreds of thousands of Cubans are peacefully coming out to demand a change of system to democracy.
We urge this Council to listen to the voices of our people and demand that Cuban leaders submit to the sovereign will of the citizenry. To this end, we urge the international community to demand that Cuba guarantee respect for all electoral safeguards, including freedom of expression, association, and access to information, an end to repression, and the release of all political prisoners, with the goal of changing the system in a binding referendum and initiating the transition to democracy.
Mr. Chairman, member states, it is time to side with the Cuban people and expel Cuba from this council.
