[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 46 (Wednesday, April 12, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2639-S2640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 289--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE 
                     HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN CUBA

  Mr. TORRICELLI (for himself, Mr. Helms, Mr. Graham, Mr. Mack, and Mr. 
Reid) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 289

       Whereas the annual meeting of the United Nations Commission 
     on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, provides a forum for 
     discussing human rights and expressing international support 
     for improved human rights performance;
       Whereas the United States Department of State 1999 Country 
     Reports on Human Rights Practices, released on February 25, 
     2000, includes the following statements describing conditions 
     in Cuba:
       (1) ``Cuba is a totalitarian state controlled by President 
     Fidel Castro. . . . President Castro exercises control over 
     all aspects of Cuban life. . . . The Communist Party is the 
     only legal political entity. . . . There are no contested 
     elections. . . . The judiciary is completely subordinate to 
     the government and to the Communist Party. . . . ''.
       (2) ``The Ministry of Interior. . . investigates and 
     actively suppresses opposition and dissent. It maintains a 
     pervasive system of vigilance through undercover agents, 
     informers, the rapid response brigades, and the Committees 
     for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR's). . . . ''.
       (3) ``[The government] continued systematically to violate 
     fundamental civil and political rights of its citizens. 
     Citizens do not have the right to change their government 
     peacefully. . . . The authorities routinely continued to 
     harass, threaten, arbitrarily arrest, detain, imprison, and 
     defame human rights advocates and members of independent 
     professional associations, including journalists, economists, 
     doctors, and lawyers, often with the goal of coercing them 
     into leaving the country. . . . ''.
       (4) ``The government denied citizens the freedoms of 
     speech, press, assembly, and association. . . . It limited 
     the distribution of foreign publications and news to selected 
     party faithful and maintained strict censorship of news and 
     information to the public. The government kept tight 
     restrictions on freedom of movement, including foreign 
     travel. . . . ''.
       (5) ``The government continued to subject those who 
     disagreed with it to `acts of repudiation'. At government 
     instigation, members of state-controlled mass organizations, 
     fellow workers, or neighbors of intended victims are obliged 
     to stage public protests against those who dissent with the 
     government's policies. . . . Those who refuse to participate 
     in these actions face disciplinary action, including loss of 
     employment. . . .''.
       (6) ``Detainees and prisoners often are subjected to 
     repeated, vigorous interrogations designed to coerce them 
     into signing incriminating statements. . . . The government 
     does not permit independent monitoring of prison conditions. 
     . . . ''.
       (7) ``Arbitrary arrest and detention continued to be 
     problems, and they remained the government's most effective 
     weapons to harass opponents. . . . [T]he Constitution states 
     that all legally recognized civil liberties can be denied to 
     anyone who actively opposes the `decision of the Cuban people 
     to build socialism'. The authorities invoke this sweeping 
     authority to deny due process to those detained on purported 
     state security grounds. . . . ''.
       (8) ``The Penal Code includes the concept of 
     `dangerousness', defined as the `special proclivity of a 
     person to commit crimes, demonstrated by his conduct in 
     manifest contradiction of socialist norms'. If the police 
     decide that a person exhibits signs of dangerousness, they 
     may bring the offender before a court or subject him to 
     `therapy' or

[[Page S2640]]

     `political reeducation. . . . ' Often the sole evidence 
     provided, particularly in political cases, is the defendant's 
     confession, usually obtained under duress. . . . ''.
       (9) ``Human rights monitoring groups inside the country 
     estimate the number of political prisoners at between 350 and 
     400 persons. . . . According to human rights monitoring 
     groups inside the country, the number of political prisoners 
     increased slightly during the year. . . . ''.
       (10) ``The government does not allow criticism of the 
     revolution or its leaders. . . . Charges of disseminating 
     enemy propaganda (which includes merely expressing opinions 
     at odds with those of the government) can bring sentences of 
     up to 14 years. . . . Even the church-run publications are 
     watched closely, denied access to mass printing equipment, 
     and subject to governmental pressure. . . . All media must 
     operate under party guidelines and reflect government views. 
     . . . ''.
       (11) ``The law punishes any unauthorized assembly of more 
     than 3 persons, including those for private religious 
     services in a private home. . . . The authorities have never 
     approved a public meeting by a human rights group''.
       (12) ``The government kept tight restrictions on freedom of 
     movement. . . . [S]tate security officials have forbidden 
     human rights advocates and independent journalists from 
     traveling outside their home provinces, and the government 
     also has sentenced others to internal exile''.
       (13) ``Citizens do not have the legal right to change their 
     government or to advocate change, and the government has 
     retaliated systematically against those who sought peaceful 
     political change. . . . An opposition or independent 
     candidate has never been allowed to run for national office. 
     . . . ''.
       (14) ``The government does not recognize any domestic human 
     rights groups, or permit them to function legally. . . the 
     government refuses to consider applications for legal 
     recognition submitted by human rights monitoring groups. . . 
     . The government steadfastly has rejected international human 
     rights monitoring''.
       (15) ``Workers can and have lost their jobs for their 
     political beliefs, including their refusal to join the 
     official union. . . . [T]he government requires foreign 
     investors to contract workers through state employment 
     agencies. . . workers. . . must meet certain political 
     qualifications. . . to ensure that the workers chosen deserve 
     to work in a joint enterprise. . . . [E]xploitative labor 
     practices force foreign companies to pay the government as 
     much as $500 to $600 per month for workers, while the workers 
     in turn receive only a small peso wage from the 
     government;''; and
       Whereas the Czech Republic and Poland will again introduce 
     a resolution condemning human rights practices of the 
     Government of Cuba at the annual meeting of the United 
     Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE HUMAN RIGHTS 
                   SITUATION IN CUBA.

       (a) Support for Human Rights Resolution.--The Senate hereby 
     expresses its support for the decision of member states 
     meeting at the 56th Session of the United Nations Human 
     Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland, to consider a 
     resolution introduced by the Czech Republic and Poland that, 
     among other things, calls upon Cuba to respect ``human rights 
     and fundamental freedoms and to provide the appropriate 
     framework to guarantee the rule of law through democratic 
     institutions and the independence of the judicial system''.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that the United States should make every effort necessary, 
     including the engagement of high-level executive branch 
     officials, to encourage cosponsorship of and support for this 
     resolution on Cuba by other governments.
       (c) Transmittal of Resolution.--The Secretary of the Senate 
     shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Secretary of 
     State with the request that a copy be further transmitted to 
     the chief of diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C., of each 
     member state represented on the United Nations Human Rights 
     Commission.

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