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COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION CONCLUDES REVIEW OF SITUATION IN CUBA

13 August 1998

MORNING
HR/CERD/98/49
13 August 1998

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination this morning concluded its consideration of a report from the Government of Cuba on efforts to implement the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Formal, written observations and recommendations on the report of Cuba will be issued towards the end of the Committee's three-week session, which concludes 21 August. Members of the Government delegation spent much of the morning meeting answering questions raised by Committee members on such issues as the right to association, religious freedom, the election system and promotion of racial equality.

Shanti Sadiq Ali, the Committee expert who served as country rapporteur to the report of Cuba, commended the Government for its effort in promoting racial equality among its citizens.

Also this morning, the Committee discussed its consideration of copies of petitions, reports and other information relating to trust and non-self-governing territories.

Participating in the discussion were Committee experts Ivan Garvalov, Michael E. Sherifis, Theodoor van Boven, Agha Shahi, Régis de Gouttes, Rüdriger Wolfrum, Michael P. Banton, and Yuri A. Rechetov.

As one of 150 States parties to the Convention, Cuba is obliged to submit periodic reports to the Committee on efforts to implement the provisions of the treaty.

The Committee will reconvene at 3 p.m. to take up the report of Nepal.

Discussion

MARIA DE LOS ANGELES FLOREZ PRIDA, Deputy Foreign Minister of Cuba, responding to the numerous questions put by Committee expert during yesterday's meeting, said that the Government of Cuba had been working hard to eradicate racial prejudices in the society. Since the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959, the Government of Cuba had implemented a series of projects aimed at eliminating racial discrimination. For 500 years, due to the existence of slavery, the Cuban society had suffered from racial discrimination.

Mrs. Florez Prida affirmed that all religions co-existed in Cuba and the Government recognized, respected and protected the freedom of conscience and the right of every citizen to change his or her religious belief or not to profess any religion, within respect of the law.

The majority of Cubans practised their own indigenous religion which was of African origin and which had been perpetuating since the years of slavery, the delegate said. Other religions such as that of the Roman Catholic Church were also practised in Cuba. The Government had established a close relationship with the Vatican. The recent papal visit by Pope John Paul II to Cuba had witnessed that closeness.

With regard to participation of blacks and women in Cuban society, Mrs. Florez Prida said that the best Cuban artists and athletes were blacks and mestizos (mixed). Out of the 601 deputies in Parliament 76 were blacks and 94 mestizos. Also, 25.9 per cent were women.

AYMEE HERNANDEZ QUESADA, a member of the delegation of (Cuba), said that her country was the only country that made apartheid a crime by law. The penal code provided a penalty of 10 to 20 years' imprisonment or death for anyone who tried to institute or maintain the dominance of one racial group over another and uphold policies of racial extermination, segregation or discrimination. The Government of Cuba had demonstrated its international commitment in fighting apartheid in actively supporting the struggle against the apartheid regimes of South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Ms. Hernandez Quesada further said that the Government of Cuba, in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other organizations had been disseminating international human rights instruments throughout the country. The Cuban mass media was also useful in contributing to the dissemination of the instrument to increase public awareness on the issues of human rights.

MARGARITA VALLE CAMINO, member of the delegation of (Cuba), said that the Constitution recognized the right to association and its enjoyment by all citizens while it prohibited the possibility of establishing racist or segregationist associations. In addition, the Association Act allowed associations that helped to foster the study, dissemination and preservation of different nationalities' history, culture and promote friendship and equality among human beings. The creation of various such associations, to which nationals of other States and their descendants belonged, typified Cuba's practice of opposing all kinds of discrimination and encouraging equality, she said.

Mrs. Valle Camino said that more than 2,000 associations were officially registered and they had their own legal personality and a non-profit purpose. In accordance with the activities they carried out, they might be considered as scientific and technical, cultural and artistic, of sports , of friendship and solidarity, or of social interest.

PABLO RODRIGUEZ VIDAL, member of the delegation of (Cuba), said that the 1992 reformed Cuban Constitution had permitted Cuba to extend its international relations and cooperation based on equity and mutual benefit. It had amended the provision on the treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers who were victims of racial discrimination.

The reformed Constitution had also strengthen the provision on non-deprivation of Cuban citizenship, Mr. Rodriguez Vidal went on to state. A new provision was also added on the equality of foreigners found on Cuban territory. The Constitution also ascertained the equality of all citizens and stated that all enjoyed equal right and were subjected to equal duties, and that discrimination on grounds of race, skin colour, sex, national origin, religious beliefs or any other grounds offensive to human dignity was prohibited.

Concerning the prohibition of people from moving to the capital Havana, the delegate said that it was intended to avoid overcrowding of the capital and it was aimed at stabilizing the situation in terms of labour, housing and other facilities. People from the countryside could travel to the capital provided that they had assured lodging facilities, he added.

Mr. Rodriguez Vidal said that the Cuban Constitution had established that Cubans could not be deprived of their citizenship except on legally established grounds. It also allowed Cubans to change their citizenship. Since double citizenship was not allowed, Cuban citizenship was lost when a foreign one was acquired, he added.

CARLOS AMAT FORES, Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that the dialogue with the Committee was an opportunity to establish certain facts and realities about Cuba. He said that some individuals, particularly journalists, attempted to disseminate false news and allegations with the aim of attacking the Cuban institutions.

Mr. Amat Fores, explaining the judicial system of Cuba, said that in Cuba there were no single-judge court system, instead, courts were made up of several judges. In all courts, the judges were professional and of high calibre. There was also a mixed courts system comprising elements of lay judges representing the workers or the peasant. Any case hearing was held in public. Any judgement handed down by the courts could be appealed, he added.

With regard to the electoral system, Mr. Amat Fores said that it was not the Communist Party that elected candidates. The nomination of candidates was carried out in a participatory manner among respectable citizens by other citizens. The election process was carried out by secret ballot; and it was not obligatory to participate in the election. However, the election turnout was over 98 per cent, a high average compared to other countries.