On International Women’s Day, Race and Equality pays tribute to all the women fighting for equality and a better world amid the COVID-19 pandemic

On International Women’s Day, Race and Equality pays tribute to all the women fighting for equality and a better world amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Washington, D.C., March 8, 2021.- On this year’s International Women’s Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) makes a special recognition to all the women who were firm in their commitment for equality over the past year, particularly in light of the increase in violation of their rights during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, we align with the United Nations’ theme for commemorating March 8: “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World.”

Race and Equality held talks with seven women from different parts of Latin America and the Caribbean who participated in advocacy spaces to promote the defense of their rights. We asked them to share their message to the nation’s leaders as well as a message of hope and resistance to all the women in the region.

United and Secure

From Colombia, Alicia Quiñonez of the National Conference of Afro-Colombian Organizations (CNOA, in Spanish) asks the Colombian authorities to place their focus on the ethnic Afro-Colombian, Raizal and Palenquero territories; to protect life and to guarantee women the right to a decent life, free to pursue social, political and entrepreneurial work within their territories.

In her message to women, Alicia states: “I invite you all to imagine and to work towards more social, political and economic spaces that will allow us to remain united, lifting our voices each day for organizational processes that allow ethnic territories to demand their rights and to live in peace – because together, we can achieve much more.”

Rights’ Guarantee

Jessenia Casani, director of DEMUS of Peru, stated that authorities must focus their efforts on promoting and achieving gender equality. “We must confront the pandemic with a gender approach in mind. For example, we need to implement preventative strategies to counter sexist violence and, in this context, be able to guarantee sexual and reproductive rights by providing comprehensive sexual education, including access to emergency contraceptives, access to legal and safe abortion services, maternal health, and other services without discrimination and violence.”

Political Participation

Rosa Castro, from the Women’s Association of the Coast of Oaxaca, Mexico stressed the importance that women continue denouncing all forms of violence they experience, as well as demand for spaces of power. “Let us exercise our political rights and continue to organize, empower ourselves and consolidate our political participation in all decision- making spaces, women must have a place at the governance table and be represented in the discussions.”

Resilience in the Midst of Crisis

Juanita Jiménez, Director of the Autonomous Women’s Movement (MAM) in Nicaragua, explained that in the midst of a socio-political crisis and human rights crisis that the country has endured since April 2018 combined with the pandemic, women face an ever-increasing risk of violence and femicide. She assured that “the fight for equality continues on, for historical and present-day discrimination continue and even modernize.”

She emphasized, “We continue to fight for the return of democracy and for the return of all rights, we want to live in a democracy so that our human condition is recognized, so that our bodies are not punished for daring to decide, to think differently, nor be criticized or inspected by authorities; the fight for equality continues so that girls can grow up safe, be valued from birth, have access to technology, science, education, and integral development, and most importantly, that they can live free from violence.”

Perseverance

Lisandra Orraca, a Cuban citizen and member of the Latin American Federation of Rural Women (FLAMUR), made a special call to the authorities so that in Cuba any crimes of femicide be classified and punished as such. She expressed, “I would like to tell the women of my country to stay united in the fight for equality and for the respect of our rights, this is the only way we can achieve a better future, free from abuse and discrimination, together we can achieve it, we can never give up, together we can accomplish whatever we set our minds to.”

From the organization TRANSSA in the Dominican Republic, Agatha Brooks articulated the importance of authorities responding adequately and efficiently to the violence faced by trans women. In the midst of the pandemic, violence is exacerbated by the lack of gender identity legislation and access to health services, not to mention a drastic decrease in financial stability. Brooks remarks, “To women, both cis and trans, I tell them not to stop fighting, that our fight is constant and that, if women in the past had stopped fighting, we would not be where we are today. Although it is believed that there has not been progress, much progress has been made and we still have a long way to go, so we need courage, strength, we can move forward.”

Women in Pandemic: Resistance and Community

The health emergency generated by Covid-19 not only exceeded the capacities of most health systems around the world, but also exposed pre-existing inequalities, violence, and poverty in our societies. Thus, historically marginalized groups like the Afro-descendant populations, LGBTI peoples, and women suffered from the impacts of this pandemic in an extreme and differentiated way. The lack of access to health services, the exclusion of health measures, the exacerbation of gender violence and the increase in the burden of care assumed by women in the home are some only a few of the many emerged situations.

 

And yet, along with all this suffering, we saw how women who fight for the recognition and guarantee of their rights remained firm, including women in public positions, health personnel, and those who head the household. For these reasons and many more, from Race and Equality we hope that on this International Women’s Day, women can re-double their strength and determination to organize, advocate, and take action for their rights. Women’s contribution is essential to have a more just and equitable society.

Throughout this week, we will be sharing videos with the messages of these women on our social networks, under the slogan “Women in Pandemic: Resistance and Collective Action.” We invite you to join this campaign so that your voice can reach more spaces for reflection and advocacy.

Alongside international experts and Latin American civil society leaders, Race and Equality publishes a new report, “CEDAW and its Impact on Women’s Lives: an intersectional approach”

Washington, D.C., March 5, 2021.- In the lead-up to International Women’s Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) held a webinar on Thursday, March 4th to launch the report “CEDAW and its Impact on Women’s Lives: an intersectional approach.” Representatives from organizations that defend the rights of Afro-descendant and LGBT women served as panelists alongside Gladys Acosta, president of the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Marisa Hutchinson, program official at International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW Asia Pacific); Janaina Oliveira, national director for LGBT issues of the Workers’ Party (PT) in Brazil; Laritza Diversent, director of the Cuban-American NGO Cubalex; María Vélez, coordinator of the Casa Afirmativa project operated by the Colombian organization Caribe Afirmativo; and Wescla Vasconcelos, coordinator of the Rio de Janeiro Forum of Travestis[1] and Transsexual People, all spoke on the panel about the impact of CEDAW and the challenges still facing its work. Cecilia Ramírez, an Afro-Peruvian activist with the Peruvian Center for Black Women’s Development, served as the moderator.

Race and Equality’s executive director, Carlos Quesada, gave the opening remarks. Melissa Monroy, the report’s author and an advisor on women’s rights at Race and Equality, presented the report, which analyzes CEDAW’s impact in Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru.

The report

In her presentation, Monroy explained that the report analyzes the dialogue among state parties, civil society, and the CEDAW committee that results in the committee’s reports and recommendations. The report pays particular attention to the representation and participation of Afro-descendant women, including Afro-descendant LGBT women, in this dialogue.

The analysis drew upon a thorough review of states’ reports to CEDAW and of CEDAW’s recommendations between 2010 and 2020. Monroy also interviewed civil society activists and leaders to understand their place in the CEDAW process and their perspectives on its impact.

“The actions of CEDAW, civil society, and state parties are all interconnected. More participation from diverse Afro-descendant women is needed in all three spheres for their voices to be heard effectively,” she remarked, noting that the report includes recommendations to the Committee, civil society, and states to improve their approach to Afro-descendant women’s rights.

The evolution of CEDAW

 CEDAW president Gladys Acosta acknowledged the lack of representation and participation of Afro-descendant women in the CEDAW process while assuring the audience that since the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1979, the Committee has undergone several reforms as society’s understanding of women’s rights has evolved. For example, she explained, the Committee has moved from focusing on “violence against women” to “gender-based violence” as the latter term gains acceptance among experts.

“This is not just a conceptual change, this is a historical evolution brought about by struggle and activism. Struggle comes before advances in laws: first there is a struggle and later on national and international institutions recognize the change. These standards are elastic; they expand as social consciousness expands, so we may have said one thing in 1980, but today things are different. There is a broader understanding of what constitutes a human rights violation,” Acosta explained.

To give another example, Acosta referred to the concept of intersectionality, saying that it has helped to fulfill the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ affirmation that all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights. “The Declaration establishes all people on equal footing, but for thousands of reasons we have delayed in arriving to this vision,” she stated.

“All this is in motion, it is not static, and the visibility that civil society brings to new issues is noticed – not only by CEDAW, but in all the UN treaty bodies. We are trying to create an understanding of human rights that is comprehensive, more specific, and more suited to protecting vulnerable people,” Acosta added.

An intersectional discussion of discrimination

 The panel’s civil society representatives drew on their experience working to defend and promote women’s rights to discuss how discrimination and violence are manifested in the lives of Afro-descendant and LGBT women.

“When I think about intersectionality, I first think about what it means to be a Black woman. We experience discrimination because of race or sexual orientation, because for a lesbian or trans Black woman, all your life experiences come to one point, which is your racial difference. This has a major impact on our experience with discrimination,” said Marisa Hutchinson, program official at IWRAW Asia Pacific.

Janaina Oliveira, national director for LGBTI issues of the Brazilian Workers’ Party, emphasized that not all public policies supposedly aimed at advancing women’s rights will improve the situation of Afro-descendant or LGBT women, especially in a country like Brazil, where the government of President Jair Bolsonaro denies the extent and impact of racism: “You can see this when we launch campaigns to fight violence against women, and there is a reduction in rates of violence only against non-Black women. State policies in favor of women don’t mean that the policies will reach the most vulnerable groups.”

Laritza Diversent, director of Cubalex, explained that in Cuba, Afro-descendant women suffer constant discrimination and violence at the hands of the authorities, including racial profiling by police who assume that Black women are involved in illegal sex work. “They assume Black women are more sexual and think that we try to go after tourists, so we are constantly being watched by police. During the pandemic, state violence against Black women has worsened,” she said, mentioning that the concept of intersectionality has not been mainstreamed in Cuba’s independent civil society, making it difficult to use an intersectional lens to gather and report data.

María Vélez of Caribe Afirmativo pointed out, “Lesbian, bisexual, and trans Black women experience life in racialized bodies, so we experience discrimination for our sexual orientation or gender identity differently than white LGBT women do. We experience it in an environment where racism against us is ingrained socially, economically, even religiously. Intersectionality requires us to think about racial, gender, and class oppression and how they are interrelated. This is how we can understand the inequality that we experience.”

The panel closed with remarks from Wescla Vasconcelos, coordinator of the Rio de Janeiro Forum of Travestis and Transsexual People, who warned of serious discrimination facing LGBTI people in Brazil. “We are the population that suffers the most hate crimes. This brutality must stop, it must be combatted – the situation must change,” she insisted.

At Race and Equality, we are committed to practicing intersectionality across our programs defending and promoting human rights, including the rights of Afro-descendant and LGBTI people. We hope that this new report will contribute to civil society’s understanding of intersectionality, its role in the fight against discrimination, and how to incorporate it into national, regional, and international policies for human rights.

The Spanish version of the report can be found here. English and Portuguese translations will be available soon.

The recording of the webinar can be found here.

[1] Travesti is a Portuguese term for a person who was assigned male at birth, but who identifies and self-expresses as female, with or without any related medical interventions.

Six years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Cuban women demand a comprehensive law on violence against women

Washington, D.C. February 4th, 2021.– The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) held a webinar on Wednesday, February 3rd to discuss women’s and girls’ rights in Cuba with representatives of independent Cuban civil society. The webinar also marked the official launch of the report Cuban Women: Left Out of the 2030 Agenda.

The webinar, entitled “Cuba and the 2030 Agenda: Progress on SDG 5 on gender equality and empowerment of women and girls,” featured Damaris Rozo López, director of the Regional SDG Observatory at University of the Andes in Colombia; María Matienzo, a Cuban journalist and writer who authored the report; Marthadela Tamayo, a human rights defender and member of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR); and Eroisis González, coordinator of the Cuban organization Women’s Platform (Plataforma Femenina).

Johanna Villegas, Legal Program Officer at Race and Equality, served as the moderator, while Executive Director Carlos Quesada offered opening and closing remarks. Carlos remarked that SDG 5 aims to end discrimination and violence against women and girls, give proper recognition to gendered labor, improve women’s participation in public life, ensure access to reproductive health, and provide women with equal access to economic resources and opportunities.

Leaving No One Behind

In her remarks, Damaris Rozo López explained that one of the most important principles of the 2030 Agenda, the vision for sustainable development for which the SDGs provide the roadmap, is the commitment to “leave no one behind.” This commitment requires an intersectional approach to sustainable development, with particular attention devoted to the circumstances of vulnerable groups of women, including Afro-descendant, LGBTI, and indigenous women.

Damaris warned that Latin America and the Caribbean face serious headwinds in achieving the SDGs. The Observatory’s data indicates that the region is not on track to achieve the goals by 2030, and at its current pace would not even achieve them in the next 50 years. Damaris explained that although COVID-19 has posed an unprecedented challenge, “We may be lagging, but we cannot stay still. I encourage all of civil society to pressure their States to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”

The Situation in Cuba

In her intervention, Maria Matienzo summarized her report Cuban Women: Left Out of the 2030 Agenda, which uses documentation of human rights violations and first-hand testimonies to analyze Cuban women’s experiences with the country’s sustainable development process. “In Cuba,” she concluded, “there exists a pattern of violence against women that has repeated itself over many years, demonstrating a failure to achieve SDG 5.”

Maria emphasized two key points. First, the lack of a juridical framework ensuring protection and equality for women, particularly the lack of a comprehensive law on violence against women that defines femicide as a crime. “In November 2019,” she explained, “a group of 40 activists, all women, presented a model law on violence against women to the National Assembly, but they were ignored.”

Second, she pointed to a clear pattern of criminalization against women’s rights activists. An environment of constant violence faces these activists, with assaults, arrests, and threats documented throughout 2020. The case of journalist Camila Acosta, who has been evicted from several rental homes due to security forces’ pressure on her landlords and who was arbitrarily detained while attempting to report on the peaceful protests of January 27th, is emblematic.

Marthadela Tamayo and Eroises González, both Afro-Cuban women, described the compounded forms of violence and discrimination facing Afro-Cubans who advocate for human rights and sustainable development. The activists described racialized abuse at the hands of police or State Security. Marthadela remarked that Cuban officials often insist, “you should be grateful, because the Revolution made you [Afro-Cubans] fully human.” Eroises also stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has fallen the hardest on Afro-Cuban women, especially those who do not live in the capital of Havana.

Cuban Women’s Demands

All three activists agreed that the Cuban government must produce trustworthy and accessible data on the situation of Cuban women and girls. They also demanded legal reforms to ensure gender equality and to protect women from violence, including a specific measure to criminalize femicide. According to statistics from the initiative Cuba I Believe You, 32 women, 2 of them underaged, were killed in Cuba in 2020. The Cuban Women’s Network documented 4
more killings in January of this year.

Race and Equality is committed to supporting the demands of independent civil society in Cuba, including the demands for gender equality, for an end to violence against women, and for an end to gender-based discrimination. We call upon the Cuban State to fulfill its international obligations by listening to the voices of women’s rights activists and following their recommendations to take all necessary steps to build a free and equal society.

Read and download the report Cuban Women: Left Out of the 2030 Agenda (Spanish) here

Watch the webinar here

Cuba: In response to Race and Equality’s request, IACHR grants precautionary measures to three members of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration

Washington, D.C., January 22, 2021.– The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has granted precautionary measures to Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna, Marthadela Tamayo González, and Osvaldo Navarro Veloz, three human rights defenders who are members of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR, by its Spanish initials) in Cuba, having found that they face a situation of grave and imminent risk of irreparable damage to their human rights.

In its decision, the IACHR called upon the State of Cuba to adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the three activists’ rights to life, to personal integrity, to freedom of expression, and to carry out their work as human rights defenders without suffering violence or intimidation. These measures should be agreed upon in consultation with the beneficiaries.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) filed the request for these precautionary measures in response to the threats, harassment, surveillance, detentions, and violent attacks that the CIR has documented against Juan Antonio, Marthadela, Osvaldo, and other CIR members. In granting the precautionary measures, the IACHR called upon Cuba to report how it plans to investigate these incidents within fifteen days.

Persecution against the CIR

The culmination of the persecution facing the CIR was the arbitrary detention of Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna, its National Coordinator, on November 12, 2020. Agents of Cuba’s State Security forces raided his house in Havana and confiscated both personal and work-related materials from him and his sister. Juan Antonio was then detained and held incommunicado for over 18 hours.

Marthadela Tamayo González and Osvaldo Navarro Veloz have also suffered multiple incidents of repression, including being detained on November 22nd, 2020 during a peaceful protest in Havana’s Central Park. The protest was called to demand the release of Denis Solís, a musician and member of the San Isidro Movement who is being held as a political prisoner. Before being detained, the two were physically attacked by a pro-government group of civilians who disrupted the protest.

Race and Equality hopes that the State of Cuba will fulfill its international human rights treaty obligations by responding to the Commission’s requests and guaranteeing the safety of Juan Antonio, Marthadela, and Osvaldo. We also hope that the State will allow them to carry out their vital work as human rights defenders without suffering persecution, threats, or violence at the hands of police, State Security, or pro-government civilian groups.

Human Rights Day: Continuing on the path towards human rights for all

Washington, D.C.; December 10, 2020.- 72 years after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the world has not yet achieved the full guarantee and enjoyment of each person’s inherent rights. In Latin America and the Caribbean, structures that contribute to human rights violations, particularly violations against historically marginalized populations, remain persistent and in some cases are worsening.

This December 10th, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) joins the international celebration of Human Rights Day by reviewing the human rights situation across the region, particularly the countries where we partner with civil society: Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Panama, and Peru.

The killing of George Floyd

Race and Equality added our voice to the global outrage sparked by the killing of George Floyd, a Black U.S. citizen, at the hands four white police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25th. Video of the tragedy on social media sparked indignation and a re-examination of the realities of racism and police brutality in the U.S.

We were heartened by the rapid and forceful response of the international human rights protection system to this travesty, including the June 17th Urgent Debate of the United Nations Human Rights Council on “the current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and the violence against peaceful protest” and the adoption of Human Rights Council Resolution 43/1. We are concerned, however, at the lack of follow-up effort to strengthen the various international human rights mechanisms’ ability to monitor States’ compliance with their obligations in this regard.

COVID-19: a multiplier of inequality

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clearer than ever that economic inequality and inequality in access to health and education have deadly consequences across the region. It has also made clear that when States fail to design public policies with an intersectional approach, indigenous, Afro-descendant, and LGBTI populations who have suffered historical marginalization and discrimination are the hardest-hit.

In Brazil, for example, the Afro-Brazilian population has seen its most fundamental right to life threatened by the denialism of President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration. Afro-Brazilians have been the population most negatively impacted by the current government’s refusal to implement proper public health measures. During the most critical months of the pandemic, Brazilian women were murdered at a rate of one every nine hours. Of these victims, 73% were Afro-descendant women.

Discrimination for reasons of sexual orientation and gender identity has also manifested itself in the context of COVID-19. In Colombia, a trans woman and sex worker named Alejandra Monocuco died in late May after medical personnel refused to give her emergency care. The personnel, who had been called by Alejandra’s companions when she suddenly became unable to breathe, refused to approach her when they learned that she was HIV-positive and told her companions that she must have been suffering an “overdose.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has coincided with the 2020 Census in Mexico, a situation that Afro-Mexican activists fear has affected census-takers’ ability to collect trustworthy data on the Afro-descendant population. Particularly in parts of Mexico not normally thought of as Afro-Mexican population centers, low rates of self-identification among Afro-descendants can lead to undercounting.

Anti-LGBTI violence and hatred

Latin America continues to be the region with the most murders of trans people. In Brazil, where the current government continues to tolerate and encourage LGBTI-phobia, 151 trans people have been murdered this year. In Colombia, Race and Equality has worked with our grassroots partners to record 65 incidents of discrimination, harassment, assault, and murder against people with diverse sexual orientations and/or gender identities.

The refusal to recognize LGBTI people’s rights and respond to their demands for justice is concerning across the region. In Peru, for example, the Constitutional Court rejected Óscar Ugarteche’s effort to have his marriage to his husband Fidel Aroche, celebrated in Mexico in 2010, inscribed in the National Civil Registry. Peru also failed to account for the rights of trans and non-binary people when it implemented its quarantine policy known as pico y género,[1] leading to acts of discrimination against this population.

In Panama, civil society continues to demand that the government introduce a law legalizing marriage equality for legislative debate, while LGBTI organizations in the Dominican Republic are leading a campaign for a Law on Equality and Non-Discrimination to protect the rights of Afro-descendant and LGBTI people.

Human rights defenders continue to be murdered

Four years after the historic Final Peace Accords ended more than 50 years of armed conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC rebels, the country is suffering one of the worst periods of violence in recent memory. The rise in violence is attributable to attacks against social leaders, human rights defenders, and ex-combatants participating in the peace program and to violent murders of civilians, such as the August 11th murder of five Young Afro-Colombian men in the Llano Verde neighborhood of Cali.

According to the Ideas for Peace Foundation (Indepaz), 287 murders of rights defenders have taken place this year as of December 7th. Indepaz reports that 688 such murders have taken place during the current administration of President Ivan Duque and a total of 1,086 have occurred since the signing of the Peace Accords. Colombian civil society continues to call for an urgent response on the part of the State, but President Duque’s government persists in prioritizing its own policy of “Peace with Legality” above the implementation of the Accords. This policy neglects vital elements of building sustainable peace, particularly women’s rights and the rights of ethnic minorities, which had been enshrined in the Accords’ groundbreaking “Ethnic Chapter.”

Repression of civil society

In Cuba, repression of activists, journalists, artists, and human rights defenders has increased as the government uses the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext for restricting the activities of independent civil society. Short-term detentions, raids and searches, confiscations of property, summary trials, and arbitrary criminal charges such as “contempt” or “public disorder” are all wielded against civil society leaders.

In Nicaragua, where the human rights crisis of April 2018 has not yet abated, authorities continue to persecute those who dissent from the current government. In the context of a public health and economic crisis sparked by COVID-19, this repression severely harms Nicaraguans’ fundamental rights. Currently, 109 people remain behind bars as political prisoners stemming from protests. Two recent laws (the Law on Foreign Agents and the Special La won Cybercrime) and the recent effort to punish “hate crimes” with life imprisonment pose acute threats to the freedoms of association, assembly, and expression.

Nicaraguan authorities continue to wield repression against those who demand accountability and respect for human rights. Along with their families, these rights defenders are threatened, monitored, and at times prevented from moving freely by the police. Meanwhile, an average of 40 violations of freedom of the press, including both physical attacks and persecution in the courts, are recorded each month.

On International Human Rights Day, Race and Equality reaffirms our commitment to building the capacities of in-country organizations to document human rights violations, defend their rights before the Inter-American and United Nations human rights systems, and advocate for reforms that will lead to the full enjoyment of human rights for all, without discrimination. We call upon all States to comply with their obligations to protect and promote human rights, obligations that are more pressing during the COVID-19 pandemic than ever.

We commit to continue our work advancing human rights for all people in the countries where we work, regardless of their race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or political beliefs. We salute the efforts of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN treaty bodies, and the special procedures of the UN human rights system, and express our hope that they will remain steadfast in their work.

 

[1] Pico y género, which was also implemented in other parts of the region, called for women and men to leave the house on alternating days

As the Cuban Government Represses Independent Civil Society and Media, Race and Equality Demands Respect for Freedom of Expression and Peaceful Assembly

Washington, D.C., November 24, 2020.- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) condemns the Cuban government’s ongoing repression of independent civil society, especially its current efforts to repress protests against the imprisonment of the musician and activist Denis Solís. On Sunday, this repression escalated with the detention of over a dozen activists, accompanied by attacks and censorship against local and international media outlets.

On Monday, civil society reported that at least 16 arbitrary detentions had taken place on Sunday, the majority of them in Havana’s Central Park, where independent activists and journalists gathered for a peaceful protest to demand Solís’ release. Solís, a member of the San Isidro Movement, was detained on November 9th and sentenced in a summary trial to eight months in prison for the supposed crime of “contempt,” a vaguely-defined statute frequently used to criminalize independent civil society activists.

Those detained have all been released, but they were interrogated, threatened, and in many cases beaten while in custody. Among those detained were Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna, Marthadela Tamayo González, and Osvaldo Navarro Veloz, all members of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR). The Dama de Blanco Berta Soler, activist Ángel Moya, reporter for independent outlet 14yMedio Luz Escobar, and independent journalist Héctor Luis Valdés were also detained. Other incidents of repression were reported across Cuba. In Antilla (Holguín province), CIR member Esber Rafael Ramírez Argota was detained; Leticia Ramos Herrería and Marisol Fernández Socorro, both Damas de Blanco, were arrested in Matanzas.

Race and Equality learned from Cuban contacts that violence was perpetrated not only by the police and State Security agents who quashed the protest, but also by pro-government civilian groups who insulted and struck the protestors while authorities stood by.

Persecution of CIR

This was the second incident of arbitrary detention that CIR, an independent civil society group working to promote the human rights of Afro-Cubans, suffered in November. On November 12th, CIR’s national coordinator Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna was detained outside his house in Havana. He was held incommunicado for over 18 hours as police searched his home and confiscated computers, cameras, hard drives, a projector, a voice recorder, a printer, documents, money, and other possessions.

Marthadela Tamayo González and Osvaldo Navarro Veloz were both detained at about 10:30am on November 19th, as they tried to attend a press conference at the CIR office about the failure of the government’s National Program Against Racism and Racial Discrimination. The two activists were taken to a police station in Alta Habana and spent approximately 50 minutes locked in a police car before being interrogated by two officials who identified themselves only as “Osvaldo” and “Ricardo.” “Ricardo” was the same officer who had overseen Madrazo Luna’s detention on November 12th.

During the interrogation, “Ricardo” warned the two to cease their activism with CIR, telling them that “you will not be allowed to ridicule President Díaz-Canel on social media,” a clear reference to CIR’s campaign marking the one-year anniversary of the National Program Against Racism and Racial Discrimination. About two hours after they were detained, they were driven to another police station in Santiago de La Vegas and held there until they were finally released around 2:50pm.

The planned press conference was suspended, with Madrazo Luna reporting that the CIR office was surrounded by State Security agents watching for journalists or community members who might try to attend.

Repression on the rise

Since the detention of Denis Solís on November 9th, the Cuban government has stepped up its violations of freedom of expression and its use of arbitrary detentions against human rights activists, journalists, and artists who speak out for Solís’ freedom.

Police surrounded the offices of the San Isidro Movement on November 18th, where 14 people had gathered to plan a peaceful protest march. In response, some of the protestors chose to launch a hunger strike. At the moment, two people continue to go without food or water, and five more remain on hunger strike.

Race and Equality calls on the Cuban government to cease its harassment and persecution of human rights defenders, including members of CIR. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Human Rights Council Resolution 13/13 both require state parties to desist from any actions that interfere with the work of human rights defenders and forbid discrimination, including for political reasons. We support the statement made by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IAHCR) calling upon the State of Cuba to “put a rapid end to the practice of harassment against independent activists, artists, and journalists who seek to exercise their right to freedom of expression.”

Look here for images about the repression of Sunday, November 22, in the Central Park of Havana:

Race and Equality demands respect for freedom of expression in the midst of the campaign for the release of Cuban activist Denis Solís; condemns the Cuban government’s continued repression against independent journalist María Matienzo and activist Kirenia Yalit Nuñez Pérez

Washington, D.C., November 19, 2020.- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) strongly condemns the continued repression carried out against independent journalist and writer María Matienzo and her partner, activist Kirenia Yalit Nuñez Pérez, at the hands of the National Police and State Security. At least four officials and a police unit remain camped outside Matienzo and Nuñez’ home in Havana since Tuesday, November 17, threatening to arrest them and take them to prison if they attempt to leave the house.

Matienzo communicated to Race and Equality that she attributes the current act of repression to her and Nuñez’ participation in the Movimiento San Isidro’s campaign to demand the release of activist and musician Denis Solís, who was arrested in Havana on November 9 and was sentenced, two days later and in a summary trial, to eight months in prison for the supposed charge of “contempt.”

Matienzo signaled that on the first day, as they attempted to leave the house, officials in the street turned on the police sirens seeking to approach them and arrest them. In addition, her partner was blocked from accessing mobile data for half a day. This recent phenomenon has been attributed to a deliberate action from the Telecommunications company (ETECSA) to commonly suspend access to data services for activists and members of the opposition.

To Matienzo, a journalist for Cuban independent media outlet CubaNet, this type of harassment is a common and recurring practice. “Sometimes they let us leave and they detain us on the road; in March, Kirenia was able to get close to a meeting location before being detained and placed in a police car under direct sunlight and interrogation,” said Matienzo. On October 10, she faced a similar situation – she was arrested while walking towards the Movimiento San Isidro headquarters and was taken to a police station where she was kept for over five hours.

Kirenia, a psychologist and coordinator of the Cuban Youth Round Table (Mesa de Diálogo de la Juventud Cubana), was also fined 100 pesos in March of this year for being falsely accused of avoiding security mechanisms. In January, she was given a written threat of being arrested and processed for “introducing counter-revolutionary material” to Cuba.

Day of Repression

Matienzo emphasized that she and her partner are not the only victims of this wave of repression and persecution – dozens of other people have been beaten, threatened and arrested since the previous week in response to the Movimiento San Isidro’s series of actions to protest the arbitrary detention of activist Denis Solís and demand his immediate release.

“Denis Solís has a particular racial profile to which the government’s sexist, homophobic and racist approach has intentionally caused more harm. The situation of lack of freedom of expression seen in the island is untenable, but we have chosen to speak out. The people must wake up because this is an evil that affects us all equally,” said the journalist.

In response to the recent wave of repression, at least nine activists from the San Isidro Movement headquarters decided to undergo a hunger strike. According to Matienzo, 14 people remain inside the headquarters, where they held a meeting three days ago to draft poetry in favor of Denis Solís’ liberation. However, a group of around 100 men comprised of plainclothes police and State Security agents arrived at the scene and surrounded the property and prevented the activists from leaving; they also intercepted food deliveries being provided by a neighbor.

Race and Equality strongly condemns these actions, which are clear violations of human rights. We demand that the Cuban government adopt the necessary measures to ensure the safety of María Matienzo and Kirenia Yalit Nuñez Perez. In light of international human rights norms, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, freedom of expression must be guaranteed by all States.

Following the arbitrary detention of Afro-Cuban leader Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna, Race and Equality demands that the Cuban government end its persecution of independent civil society activists

Washington, D.C.; November 13, 2020.- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) condemns the arbitrary detention carried about against Afro-Cuban activist Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna, the national coordinator of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR). Juan Antonio was deprived of his liberty for over twelve hours, during which time his family and colleagues had no information about his whereabouts. Race and Equality demands that the Cuban government immediately end its persecution of citizens who take part in independent civil society activities.

According to information from fellow CIR activist Marthadela Tamayo, security agents violently detained Juan Antonio around 4:00pm on Thursday, November 12 at his home in Havana. Security personnel also confiscated property from Juan Antonio and his sister Jacqueline Madrazo, including two computers, a camara, a projector and screen, an audio recorder, books, and documents.

Although Juan Antonio was released on Friday morning, his family and colleagues were given no information about his whereabouts for over twelve hours, despite visiting at least six police stations to ask where he was being held. Race and Equality, along with other organizations on and off the island, considers Juan Antonio’s treatment to be a case of forced disappearance.

Juan Antonio’s arrest comes on the heels of CIR’s efforts to publicize their report Denial, Exclusion, and Discrimination, which documents the human rights situation for Afro-Cubans and Cubans of mixed race, and the results of the organization’s investigation into racial discrimination in the Cuban labor market. Both documents have been disseminated at the national and international levels, including bring presented to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

A wave of arrests

 CIR also informed Race and Equality that CIR members Esber Rafael and Braulio Hastié were detained in Antilla (Holguin province) on Thursday. The arresting officer, a State Security agent identified as Henry Borrero Peña, confiscated another camera from the two activists. Also on Thursday, the artist and activist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and the independent journalist Iliana Hernandez were both arrested and released hours later.

The government constantly wields such tactics of police harassment and short-term detention against Cuba’s independent civil society. Race and Equality demands that Cuban authorities respect the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and assembly, and freedom of movement. The Cuban State is obligated to protect and promote these rights under the treaties and international commitments to which it is party.

Race and Equality denounces the arbitrary detention of Cuban activist Yandier García Labrada and expresses concern for his health in prison

Washington, D.C.; November 6, 2020.- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) denounces the arbitrary detention of Cuban activist Yandier García Labrada, a member of the Christian Liberation Movement (MCL). Mr. García has been deprived of his liberty since October 6th and is being held at “El Típico” prison in Las Tunas province. In prison, Mr. García’s health has worsened considerably, partly due to a serious physical assault for which he has not received medical attention.

Yandier’s family was officially informed of his detention on October 27th, when his brother Irán Almaguer Labrada went to the Las Tunas provincial police station to request information. The official in charge of the case, who refused to give his name, revealed only that Yandier was being held in “El Típico” under the charges of “contempt” and “public disorder” and that no date had been set for his trial.

On November 3rd, Yandier’s other brother Yoanny Almaguer Labrada was finally allowed to see him and spoke with him for around 20 minutes. Yoanny reported that Yandier could not move his left arm and showed him bruises on his ribs, shoulder, and arms. He also reported that Yandier had not received any medical attention and that prison officials would not allow the family to give him the aerosol spray that he needs to control his frequent asthma attacks.

Until the meeting with Yoanny on November 3rd, Yandier had not been allowed to have either phone calls or in-person visits. The day after the meeting, Irán was detained for five hours in Buenaventura as he traveled from Manatí to San Andrés. The security official who detained Irán gave his name as Alberto and demanded that Irán “stop your opposition” if he wanted Yandier to be freed.

Facts of the case

According to information from Yandier’s brothers and MCL members, Yandier was seized around 3:00pm on Tuesday, October 6 outside of a grocery store in Manatí, where he resides. Yandier was in line to buy groceries and began to complain vocally about the market’s disorganization and poor service, leading other people to join in.

The market’s staff called the police to deal with this impromptu protest. When the police arrived, they arrested Yandier and three others, who were released later that day. Witnesses told the MCL and Yandier’s family that the arrest was “rough,” with four or five officers stuffing Yandier head-first into a police car.

Dr. Eduardo Cardet, national coordinator of the MCL, told Race and Equality that “the unjust and arbitrary incarceration of Yandier García Labrada is part of a systematic campaign of repression against members of the MCL aimed at suppressing our activism on behalf of human rights.” According to Dr. Cardet, threats and acts of harassments against MCL members are common. Race and Equality denounced such attacks in August.

“It is very concerning that Yandier’s family could not contact him or find out his status. The MCL demands the immediate liberation of Yandier García,” added Dr. Cardet.

Race and Equality calls for compliance with the rights of persons deprived of liberty

Race and Equality shares the family’s concern for Yandier’s worsening health and demands that the Cuban State protect his rights to life, personal integrity, health, and well-being, including by providing him access to adequate and timely healthcare. We also call on the government to provide him with the means to communicate with his family regularly. These measures are called for by international human rights instruments protecting the rights of those deprived of liberty, including the Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, adopted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IAHCR) in 2008, and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.

Representatives from independent civil society and the IACHR Rapporteur on the Rights of Women call on Cuba to cease repression of female activists

Washington, D.C.; October 27, 2020.- Margarette May Macaulay, Rapporteur on Women’s Rights at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), joined representatives from Cuba’s independent civil society to demand an end to the persecution and criminalization of female activists in Cuba while committing to continue documenting and denouncing human rights violations.

Commissioner Macaulay and three members of the renowned Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) served as panelists during the webinar ¡Cubanas Libres Ya! The Situation of Female Political Prisoners in Cuba on Tuesday, October 27th. The webinar was organized by the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) as part of the #CubanasLibresYa (Free Cuban Women Now) campaign, which began in March 2020 and has brought to light the realities of violence, persecution, and criminalization facing Cuban women who demand human rights and dignified living conditions for all Cubans.

Context

In his welcoming remarks, Race and Equality’s Executive Director Carlos Quesada stressed that the Cuban state utilizes the country’s Criminal Code to criminalize those who express opinions against the government, a blatant violation of its international obligations to respect and protect human rights. “Specifically, authorities can charge activists with crimes or concepts that are not clearly defined in the Code, such as ‘contempt,’ ‘assault,’ or ‘social dangerousness,’” he pointed out.

Race and Equality’s Director of Programs, Christina Fetterhoff, serving as moderator, stated that between January and September of this year, the Cuban Human Rights Observatory (OCDH) recorded 1,249 arbitrary detentions, including 367 detentions of women. She also shared that there are currently at least 10 women in prison, serving house arrest, or performing ‘corrective labor’ for political motives.

Caitlin Kelly, Race and Equality’s Latin America Legal Program Officer, shared that although precise data is difficult to gather, the marginalization and poverty afflicting Cuban women is undeniable. In response to these injustices, Cuban women have taken great strides in advocacy and activism to demand change. “However,” she went on, “as the IACHR has recognized, freedom of expression is non-existent in Cuba. State Security forces, the police, the Rapid Response Brigades, and other authorities violently break up protests and look for pretexts to imprison the participants.”

Cases

Race and Equality’s documentary video about the situation of female political prisoners made its debut during the event. Afterwards, Berta Soler, leader of the Damas de Blanco, and former political prisoners Yolanda Santana and Xiomara Cruz Miranda shared their personal experiences. Internet connectivity issues made it difficult to sustain a conversation, but phone connections and pre-recorded videos prepared by the women allowed the three to share their testimonies.

Ms. Soler explained that in the last five years, she has been detained over 200 times, sometimes suffering three arbitrary detentions in a single week. “I remember that during one arrest, two police officers used a chokehold on me while one of them gauged my eyes, causing one of my eyes to fill with blood. They kept me in a cell for over 24 hours without water to drink or running water for sanitary purposes, nor did I have anything to eat,” she related. She also shared that she had most recently been arrested on September 8th of this year, during events and protests marking the feast of Our Lady of Charity, a major national holiday.

Yolanda Santana, one of the women profiled by Race and Equality during the #CubanasLibresYa campaign, recounted that since joining the Damas de Blanco, she has received dozens of arbitrary fines from the authorities – the total amount she owes would be impossible to pay. In July 2018, she was detained for failing to pay her fines and put on trial without the right to present a defense. She spent a year in El Guatao women’s prison, where she suffered inhumane and degrading treatment.

Xiomara Cruz Miranda joined the event virtually from Miami, where she has resided since being granted a humanitarian visa early this year. The visa was granted after she fell deathly ill in prison, where she was being held as a political prisoner. She made clear during the event that her illness was produced by mistreatment in prison and the lack of adequate healthcare in Cuban hospitals.

Ms. Cruz has been a political prisoner twice. In April 2016, she was arrested in a Havana park along with three other activists and detained in El Guatao prison for a year and eight months before standing trial. She was eventually granted conditional release but was arrested again in September 2018 and sentenced to another year and four months for supposed “threats” against a neighbor who provoked a confrontation by throwing stones at her house.

An unacceptable situation

IACHR Commissioner and Rapporteur on the Rights of Women Margarette May Macaulay expressed her concern at the persecution and criminalization described by Cuban activists. She remarked that although the number of women in prison is relatively small compared to that of men, the effects of incarceration are extremely harmful for these women, their families, and their communities.

Commissioner Macaulay made clear that the situation is unacceptable and “must end,” listing several regional and international human rights standards on the treatment of persons deprived of liberty that the State of Cuba is violating. Among these are the obligations to act without discrimination and to provide those in detention with hygiene and dignified living conditions.

The Commissioner also emphasized that her office and the entire IACHR will continue to monitor the human rights situation in Cuba, inviting local and international civil society organizations to document human rights violation and report them to the Commission. She expressed her hope that the current government will end its use of arbitrary detentions, respect the right to freedom of expression, and allow free access to information.

Race and Equality also stands firm in our commitment to monitor the situation of political prisoners in Cuba, denounce abuses, and work with local activists to demand that Cuba comply with its international human rights obligations. We invite all those interested to visit the #CubanasLibresYa campaign website (cubanaslibresya.com in Spanish and cubanaslibresyaeng.com in English)

The Cubanas Libres Ya documentary is available for viewing here: https://youtu.be/gTQcFGute4g

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