Corporate report

Cuba - in-year update December 2015

Published 21 April 2016

During the reporting period, we saw some progress on respect for human rights, in particular access to the internet. However, our main human rights concerns remain. A lack of freedom of expression and association continues to be an issue, as does the use of short-term detentions against those who oppose and criticise the government, including independent journalists and human rights defenders.

Rapprochement with the United States continued, and included the opening of embassies by the United States and Cuba in each other’s capitals and bilateral negotiations on easing travel restrictions between the two countries. Negotiations of the EU/Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation agreement also continued. However, there has been no follow-up and no date set for the next round of the EU/Cuba human rights dialogue.

The Cuban government continued to open up access to the internet. In July, 35 wifi hubs were opened in parks and other public places and, by the end of 2015, there were over 50 around Cuba. However, at a cost of $2 per hour, the cost of using the internet remains high in a country where the average monthly wage is $20. This high price to connect excludes the majority of Cubans from accessing the Internet, and contributes to Cuba being ranked as one of the least connected countries in the world, with around 5% internet penetration.

In September, Pope Francis visited Cuba and called for more religious freedoms for the Church. Large crowds turned out to catch a glimpse of the Pope, and his image could be seen all over Havana, including in Revolution Square – the scene of an outdoor Mass in which thousands participated. In the run-up to the Pope’s visit, the government released around 3,500 prisoners. Similar gestures had been made ahead of previous Papal visits. We welcomed this, although critically there were no political prisoners amongst those released (who included the elderly, the very young, and the chronically ill). Some reports suggest that a number of civil society activists who had been invited to attend the Pope’s outdoor Mass were prevented from attending. While the Pope’s visit will have given support to calls for more freedom of religion in Cuba, international NGOs report continued difficulties for different religious groups, from arrests to threats of church closures and demolitions.

The Cuban government continued to use short-term detentions as a way to stem dissent. The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation continued to publish monthly figures of reported detentions nationwide. Their final report in December 2015 claimed that there had been a total of 8,616 cases of individuals temporarily detained for political reasons during 2015, slightly lower than last year, but continuing the strong upward trend of recent years. The prominent civil society group, the Ladies in White, which campaigns for the release of political prisoners, continued to report arbitrary detentions during their regular Sunday marches in Havana over the last six months. On Human Rights Day in December, they reported that six of their members were detained when they attempted to protest against the government. Furthermore, in November, they reported that nearly 300 people from across Cuba were detained when they tried to attend Mass and take part in peaceful demonstrations. In advance of the Papal visit, 40 members of the group were detained for departing from the authorised route for their demonstration.

In October, the Cuban artist Danilo Maldonado, widely known as El Sexto, was released after spending 10 months in prison for attempting to release two pigs with the names of Raúl and Fidel Castro painted on them. In December, it was reported that some of the 53 political prisoners released after the United States/Cuban 17 December 2014 announcements to normalise relations had since been re-arrested. This included Vladimir Morera Bacallas who has been on hunger strike since October. On 15 December, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Hussein, called for Cuba to halt harassment of civil society activists, specifically referencing the many hundreds of arbitrary arrests and short-term detentions.

In November, the President of the International Red Cross, Paul Maurer, paid a working visit to Cuba and met President Raúl Castro, the Health Minister, and the Head of Civil Defence. Further details of the visit were not made public.

During the second half of 2015, the Embassy continued its programme of regular meetings with a wide range of people and organisations from Cuban academia and civil society, and closely monitored developments in human rights.