Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. February 25, 2009.
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Protection of Refugees
Although the country is not a party to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, the constitution provides for the granting of asylum to individuals persecuted for their ideals or actions involving a number of specified political grounds. Although the government has no formal mechanism to process asylum for foreign nationals, in practice it provided protection against the expulsion or return of refugees to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened, including to some fugitives from justice, whom the government defined as refugees for political reasons.
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting the small number of refugees and asylum seekers in the country. The government allowed a small number of asylum seekers identified by the UNHCR to remain in the country while third-country settlement was being sought. In addition the government allowed foreign medical students who feared persecution in their home countries to remain in the country after the end of their studies so that an investigation of their concerns could be conducted.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
While the constitution provides for direct election of provincial, municipal, and ANPP members, citizens do not have the right to change their government, and the government retaliated against those who sought peaceful political change.
On February 19, Fidel Castro officially resigned as president, ending nearly 50 years of rule. On February 24, the National Assembly unanimously elected Raul Castro to succeed his brother as chief of state, president, and commander in chief of the armed forces. Without citizen participation, existing undemocratic institutions, including the armed forces, the CP, and the ANPP, endorsed the transfer of power.
In the elections for the National Assembly held during the year, voters were strongly encouraged simply to indicate approval or disapproval of a unified CP-approved slate of candidates. The government promoted this "voto unido" or unified slate; all of the candidates who had been preapproved by the candidacy commissions were elected, with the result that the CP won 98 percent of the vote and 606 of 614 seats in the National Assembly. The government reported that more than 1.4 million voters, or 17 percent of the electorate, defaced ballots or otherwise abstained from the election.
Elections and Political Participation
Candidates for provincial and national office must be approved in advance by mass organizations, such as the women's and youth party organizations controlled by the government. A small group of leaders, under the direction of the president, selected the members of the highest policy-making bodies of the CP, the Politburo, and the Central Committee. Although not a formal requirement, in practice CP membership was a prerequisite for high-level official positions and professional advancement.
The government maintained a dossier on every child from kindergarten through high school, which included a record of the child's participation in political activities, such as mandatory marches. Full participation in political activities, such as membership in the Union of Pioneers of Cuba, a regimented youth organization used by the government for political indoctrination, was essential to advance in the school system.
There were two women in the 24-member Politburo and 15 in the 118-member Central Committee. Women held six seats in the 31-member Council of State and 265 seats in the 614-seat National Assembly.
Persons of African descent held five seats in the Politburo. Following the selection of the ANPP in February, the government reported its composition as 64 percent white, 19 percent black, and 16 percent mixed race.
Government Corruption and Transparency
The law provides criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.
The World Bank's worldwide governance indicators reflected that government corruption was a problem. Independent and official press reported incidents of government corruption. Several reliable sources confirmed that early in the year a court sentenced Carlos Garcia, director of the state-run firm Guama, and Miguel Quintana, director of the state-owned import firm MATCO, to 20 years' imprisonment for illegal transactions and corruption. The Supreme Court upheld the verdicts in July.
Government officials are not subject to any special financial disclosure laws. The law provides for three to eight years' imprisonment for "illegal enrichment" by authorities or government employees. All government agencies, especially the Ministry of Auditing and Control and the Ministry of the Interior, are tasked with combating corruption and unlawfulness, including through prosecution of government officials.
The law provides for public access to government information, but in practice requests for information routinely were rejected, often on the grounds that access is not a right.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
In violation of its own statutes, the government did not recognize any domestic human rights groups or permit them to function legally. Several human rights organizations continued to function outside the law, including the CCDHRN, the Christian Liberation Movement, the Assembly to Promote Civil Society, and the Lawton Foundation for Human Rights. The government subjected domestic human rights advocates to violence, intense intimidation, and harassment, including threats of death and disappearance.
The government occasionally staged acts of repudiation, in which it mobilized Communist militants and others to hold public rallies aimed at intimidating and ostracizing members of dissident organizations.
The government also took steps to prevent the movement of activists; on many occasions, State Security, police, and mobs prevented "Ladies in White" members and members of other dissident groups from traveling to Havana, or elsewhere within the country, to take part in peaceful assembly.
The government rejected international human rights monitoring. No UN Special Rapporteurs visited the country. The government continued to deny human rights organizations and the International Committee of the Red Cross access to political prisoners and detainees.
Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The constitution prohibits discrimination based on race, gender, disability, or social status; however, racial discrimination occurred frequently.
Women
The law criminalizes rape, including spousal rape, and the government enforced the law. The government did not release statistics during the year on arrests, prosecutions, or convictions for rape. The Havana office of the NGO Women's News Service for Latin America and the Caribbean (SEMlac), which advocates for women's issues, did not estimate the incidence of rape to be very high.
The law does not recognize domestic violence as a distinct category of violence but prohibits threats and inflicting injuries, including those associated with domestic violence. Penalties for domestic violence are covered by the laws against assault and range from fines to prison sentences of varying lengths, depending on the severity of the offense.
Human rights advocates reported that violence against women was a problem, and police often did not act on cases of domestic violence. The press rarely reported on violent crime, and the government did not release data on the extent of domestic violence. However, the CCDHRN and the Cuban Chapter of the Latin American Federation of Rural Women reported that domestic violence was a serious problem and that there was a lack of programs to protect victims.
To raise awareness about domestic violence, the government continued to carry out media campaigns during the year. The CCDHRN believed that many women did not report acts of domestic violence because they feared doing so could trigger another attack.
Prostitution is legal for persons over age 17, but pandering and economic activities facilitating prostitution, including room rentals, are illegal. Large numbers of foreign tourists visiting the country patronized prostitutes. Some police officers were suspected of providing protection to individuals engaged in prostitution.
The law provides penalties for sexual harassment, with potential sentences of three months' to five years' imprisonment. The law was applied most frequently to male supervisors "abusing their power" over female subordinates, according to the CCDHRN. The government did not release any statistics during the year on arrests, prosecutions, or convictions for offenses related to sexual harassment. Based on anecdotal evidence, SEMlac claimed that sexual harassment was widespread.
The law provides that women and men have equal rights and responsibilities regarding marriage, divorce, raising children, maintaining the home, and pursuing a career. The law grants working mothers preferential access to goods and services. The law provides for equal pay for equal work, and women generally received pay comparable to men for similar work.
Children
The government generally was committed to children's rights and welfare; the law provides that all children have equal rights and that parents have a duty to ensure their protection.
There was no societal pattern of child abuse.
Child prostitution was a problem, with young girls engaging in prostitution to help support themselves and their families. While underage prostitution was apparent, there were no reliable statistics available regarding its extent.
Trafficking in Persons
The law prohibits most forms of trafficking in persons; however, there were reports that women were trafficked from the country to Mexico, the Bahamas, and Europe and that children were trafficked within the country for purposes of sexual exploitation.
The nature and extent of trafficking were difficult to gauge due to the closed nature of the government and the lack of NGO reporting; however, some citizens who had successfully emigrated on "go-fast" vessels were forced to work as deckhands on subsequent smuggling trips to pay off smuggling debts.
The law provides penalties for anyone who "induces, cooperates with, promotes, or gets a benefit from the exercise of prostitution." If the offense involves the victim's entry or exit from the country, the penalty ranges from 20 to 30 years' imprisonment. The law provides for penalties of seven to 15 years' imprisonment for trafficking for forced labor, prostitution, and trade in organs, both domestically and internationally. The law provides for penalties of four to 10 years' imprisonment for "inducing, in any way, or promoting another person to engage in prostitution or bodily commerce." The sentence increases to 10 to 20 years for anyone who threatens or forces another to engage in prostitution. The law also provides sentences of 20 to 30 years for anyone convicted of pimping after a previous conviction or anyone accused of habitually promoting prostitution.
A criminal court can levy damages, called "responsibilities," and can assess damages to be paid through the court to the victim. The CCHRN stated that in cases of internal trafficking, rather than bring a trafficking charge, the government might charge the individual with pimping.
There were no reliable statistics on the number of traffickers prosecuted or convicted during the year. The CCDHRN stated that although it could not make reliable estimates, a large number of persons were serving sentences for pimping, but it was unclear whether these individuals actually trafficked in persons or merely facilitated work by willing individuals. All those prosecuted or convicted had come to the country from the United States, Mexico, or other countries such as the Bahamas.
The Ministries of Justice and Education, the PNR, and local governments were tasked with different facets of combating trafficking in persons and the problem of underage prostitution; no single entity had complete autonomy dealing with these problems. Police were responsible for investigating and arresting traffickers, the Ministry of Justice with prosecuting and incarcerating traffickers, and the Ministry of Education with rehabilitating prostitutes. No information was available concerning government assistance with international investigations of trafficking or the extradition of traffickers.
There were no known investigations or prosecution of public officials for complicity in trafficking during the year, although some police officers reportedly accepted bribes in connection with the country's sex trade.
Although prostitution is not a crime per se, individuals who engaged in prostitution, including possible trafficking victims and children, often were treated as criminals, detained, and taken to rehabilitation centers that were not staffed with personnel who were adequately trained or equipped to care for trafficking victims.
The government, in cooperation with the British government and a British NGO, ran a center in Havana for the treatment of child sexual abuse victims, including victims of trafficking. The center employed the most modern treatment techniques, including the preparation of children to be witnesses in criminal prosecutions. There were no known government programs to prevent trafficking.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report can be found at www.state.gov/g/tip.
Persons with Disabilities
There was no known law prohibiting official discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, access to health care, or in the provision of other state services. However, a Ministry of Labor and Social Security resolution gives persons with disabilities the right to equal employment opportunities and to equal pay for equal work. There was no official discrimination against persons with disabilities. There are no laws mandating accessibility to buildings for persons with disabilities, and in practice buildings and transportation rarely were accessible to persons with disabilities.
The Special Education Division of the Ministry of Education was responsible for the education and training of children with disabilities. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security was in charge of the Job Program for the Handicapped.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Afro-Cubans often suffered racial discrimination, including frequent and disproportionate stops for identity checks and searches of backpacks and personal items, insults, and racial epithets. A black foreign diplomat was frequently stopped by police and questioned as to whether she was a citizen and what she was doing in certain areas. Afro-Cubans were disproportionately represented in neighborhoods with the worst housing conditions and were economically disadvantaged in part because of employment discrimination, notably in the tourist industry. The government made no efforts to address racial discrimination because it denied that any such discrimination existed.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination
Societal discrimination against homosexuals persisted, as police occasionally conducted sweeps in areas where homosexuals congregated, particularly along sections of Havana's waterfront. Homosexual rights organizations also reported cases of individuals discharged from their jobs due to their sexual orientation.
Some persons with HIV/AIDS suffered job discrimination or were rejected by their families. The government operated four prisons exclusively for HIV/AIDS sufferers; some inmates were serving sentences for "propagating an epidemic."
Mariela Castro, the president's daughter, headed the national Center for Sexual Education and was outspoken in promoting homosexual rights. In May she organized a week of programs to mark International Anti-Homophobia Day. Television programs promoted tolerance for homosexuals. On June 6, the government announced the availability of free gender-reassignment surgery. However, nongovernment homosexual rights organizations, such as the Movement of Homosexual Liberation, asserted that the government had done nothing to stop frequent cases of police brutality and harassment of homosexuals, and that Mariela Castro did not respond to their requests to meet with her. On June 25, State Security forces prevented a coalition of homosexual rights groups from holding a "Gay Pride" march in Havana by detaining the organizers and intimidating would-be participants by maintaining a heavy police presence at the parade's starting point.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The law does not allow workers to form and join unions of their choice. Rather, the state established official unions and did not permit competing independent unions. Official labor unions had a mobilization function and did not act as trade unions, promote worker rights, or protect the right to strike. Such organizations were under the control of the state and the CP, which also managed the enterprises for which the laborers worked. Because all legal unions were government entities, antiunion discrimination by definition did not exist.
The only legal labor confederation was the Confederation of Cuban Workers (CTC), whose leaders were chosen by the CP. The CTC's principal responsibility was to ensure that government production goals were met. Virtually all workers were required to belong to the CTC, and promotions frequently were limited to CP members who took part in mandatory marches, public humiliations of dissidents, and other state-organized activities.
Workers often lost their jobs because of their political beliefs, including their refusal to join the official union. On July 20, the National Bureau of Taxation removed Luis Gomez Perez's license to practice as a barber because he was a member of the independent trade union, the Central Christian Union (CSC).
Several small independent labor organizations operated without legal recognition, most notably the Union of Bicycle Taxi Drivers, the CSC, and the National Independent Workers' Confederation of Cuba. These organizations also were subject to police harassment and infiltration by government agents and were unable to represent workers effectively or work on their behalf.
The government continued to incarcerate independent labor activists. Five of the seven independent labor leaders jailed in 2003 remained in prison, serving sentences of between 12 and 25 years. Pedro Pablo Alvarez Pedroso, president of the Unitary Workers Council, was released on February 15 after serving 17 years of a 30-year sentence; he and three other political prisoners were released to Spain.
The law does not provide for strikes, and none were known to have occurred during the year.
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