[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 179 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 179

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
  systematic human rights violations in Cuba committed by the Castro 
 regime, calling for the immediate release of all political prisoners, 
  and supporting respect for basic human rights and free elections in 
                                 Cuba.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 7, 2003

Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart of Florida (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. 
Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Mr. Ballenger, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Smith of 
   New Jersey, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Burton of Indiana, Mr. Kingston, Mr. 
 McCotter, and Mr. Pallone) submitted the following resolution; which 
        was referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
  systematic human rights violations in Cuba committed by the Castro 
 regime, calling for the immediate release of all political prisoners, 
  and supporting respect for basic human rights and free elections in 
                                 Cuba.

Whereas the Cuban Government continues to repress all peaceful attempts by the 
        Cuban people to bring democratic change to the island by denying 
        universally recognized liberties, including freedom of speech, assembly, 
        association, movement and of the press;
Whereas on March 9, 2003, many of Cuba's prominent dissidents issued a statement 
        titled ``Joint Statement'' to the European Union, wherein they 
        reaffirmed their view of the Cuban Government's ``total vocation to 
        immobility and its refusal to respect internationally recognized human 
        rights or accept the existence of legitimate political opposition'' and 
        further stated that ``in recent times the Cuban Government has 
        intensified its political and social repression'';
Whereas commencing on March 17, 2003, the Cuban Government carried out a 
        massive, island wide crackdown on members of Cuba's pro-democracy 
        movement, which included the arrest of over 80 dissidents, among them 
        many who signed the ``Joint Statement'', activists of the Assembly to 
        Promote Civil Society, promoters of the Varela Project, independent 
        journalists, and numerous members of Cuba's nascent independent civil 
        society;
Whereas the Cuban Government arbitrarily searched the homes and confiscated 
        personal items belonging to pro-democracy activists;
Whereas independent journalists were among those incarcerated in this massive 
        crackdown, including Raul Rivero, known as the dean of the dissident 
        independent journalists in Cuba;
Whereas independent librarians, who make their homes available so that the Cuban 
        population may have access to publications otherwise censored by the 
        Cuban Government, also became victims of repression, as many were 
        arrested, their homes ransacked and searched, and publications and other 
        belongings confiscated;
Whereas Marta Beatriz Roque, and other leaders of the ``Assembly to Promote 
        Civil Society'', an islandwide movement seeking to coordinate the 
        various sectors of Cuba's nascent independent civil society who work for 
        a democratic transition, were incarcerated and face lengthy sentences, 
        including life sentences;
Whereas activists who have collected or signed petitions for the Varela Project 
        were also incarcerated in this crackdown and may also face life 
        sentences;
Whereas more than 80 pro-democracy leaders who work for a peaceful transition to 
        democracy in Cuba have been incarcerated and sentenced under ``Law 88'' 
        and ``Law 91'', two draconian totalitarian laws that call for long 
        sentences of 10, 15, or 20 years, or life imprisonment, or even death 
        for pro-democracy activity;
Whereas there is concern for the well-being and safety for all of Cuba's 
        political prisoners, particularly Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leyva, who is a 
        blind human rights activist incarcerated since March of 2002 without 
        being formally charged, and Leonardo Bruzon Avila, who has been denied 
        medical attention according to Amnesty International, despite the 
        effects of a prolonged hunger strike while in prison.;
Whereas a plea for solidarity was made from within the notoriously harsh prison 
        in Cuba known as ``Combinado del Este'' and signed by 21 political 
        prisoners, among them Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Francisco Chaviano, Rafael 
        Ibarra, and Jorge Luis Garcia Perez ``Antunez'' to the member states of 
        the 59th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission;
Whereas the Cuban Government has carried out ``summary trials'' to expeditiously 
        sentence pro-democracy leaders to try to intimidate and silence other 
        pro-democracy activists on the island, while world attention is 
        primarily focused on Iraq;
Whereas the Castro regime has engaged in mass arrests of dissidents while the 
        United Nations Commission on Human Rights, of which Cuba is a member, is 
        meeting in Geneva;
Whereas certain member countries of the Latin American and Caribbean group 
        (GRULAC) at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights are currently 
        drafting a resolution on the violations of human rights by the Cuban 
        Government;
Whereas the Cuban Government has repeatedly violated the rights enshrined in the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Inter-American Convention on 
        Human Rights, and other international and regional human rights 
        agreements, and has violated the mandates issued by the United Nations 
        Commission on Human Rights;
Whereas foreign diplomats and members of the international press have been 
        barred by the Cuban Government from being present at the ``summary 
        trials''; and
Whereas pro-democracy leaders on the island have come together to call for the 
        immediate release of all Cuban political prisoners, and are requesting 
        international solidarity with the internal opposition, as reflected in a 
        March 31, 2003, statement signed by some of the most prominent 
        dissidents on the island: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the brutal crackdown of the Cuban Government 
        on the island's peaceful pro-democracy movement;
            (2) calls for the immediate release of all Cuban political 
        prisoners;
            (3) supports the right of the Cuban people to exercise 
        fundamental political and civil liberties, including freedom of 
        expression, assembly, association, movement, press, and the 
        right to multiparty elections;
            (4) calls on the United States Permanent Representative to 
        the United Nations and other International Organizations in 
        Geneva, Switzerland, to work with the member countries of the 
        United Nations Commission on Human Rights to ensure a 
        resolution that includes the strongest possible condemnation of 
        the current crackdown of dissidents and of the gross human 
        rights violations committed by the Cuban Government; and
            (5) calls on the Latin American and Caribbean group 
        (GRULAC) at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights to 
        exclude Cuba from its slate of candidates for the United 
        Nations Commission on Human Rights and urges all member nations 
        to oppose renewing Cuba's membership on the United Nations 
        Commission on Human Rights until the Government of Cuba adheres 
        to international human rights standards, such as those 
        delineated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
                                 <all>