Human Rights Absent from the Eighth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party

Washington, D.C.; April 27^th, 2021.- The eighth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party, held from April 16^th-19^th, failed to discuss the country’s serious human rights problems or take action to address them. Independent Cuban civil society felt that the Congress was ‘more of the same,’ despite the government and official media’s efforts to declare it a success.

Since the Communist Party is the county’s highest authority, the Party Congress, held every five years, invariably gives rise to speculation about changes in the country’s direction. On the first day of this year’s Congress, President Miguel Díaz-Canel tweeted that “here we refine ideas, recognize the past, and discuss the future.”

At the international level, the most newsworthy element of this year’s Congress was the passing of the position of First Secretary of the Party from Raúl Castro to Miguel Díaz-Canel. For Cuban civil society, meanwhile, the Congress was yet another official forum that neglected the most basic issues plaguing the country: difficulty accessing basic goods, lack of access to medicine, the spread of COVID-19, violence against women, and restrictions on the freedoms of expression and association.

The Afro-Cuban leader and national coordinator of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR) Juan Antonio Madrazo told Race and Equality that “the Party Congress focused more on strengthening the ideological front, which has been showing cracks for some time now, than on addressing the immediate problems in society.” According to Madrazo, “the Party vanguard did not discuss how they will modernize social policy nor how they will use the social protection system to tackle poverty and inequality.”

The Congress also ignored Cuba’s human rights obligations and the structural failure of Cuban law to conform with international human rights law. When Cuba drafted its new Constitution in 2019, the original proposed text stated that “the rights and responsibilities established in this Constitution shall be interpreted in conformity with international human rights treaties ratified by Cuba.” This text was removed during the drafting process, however, and Article 8 of the ratified Constitution now states that the Constitution takes precedence over international treaties such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and others.

The struggle against racism

Activists and organizations fighting against racism and racial discrimination were concerned by the Congress’ failure to address these issues, especially considering that the government’s National Program Against Racism has had no tangible impact and that few Cubans even know of its existence. “Efforts against racism, homophobia, and gender-based violence were not included because the State considers these issues to be part of an ‘enemy agenda,’” said Madrazo.

CIR’s efforts to hold the National Program Against Racism accountable for its stated goals has brought persecution, attacks, and arbitrary detentions down on its members, as Race and Equality has denounced before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the United Nations. In January 2021, the IACHR granted precautionary measures to Madrazo, Marthadela Tamayo González, and Osvaldo Navarro Veloz because of these violations, and in March, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor called on the Government of Cuba to end the intimidation of CIR’s members.

“The Congress leaves a bitter taste in our mouths – it is clear that repression, ideological vigilance, and constant human rights violations will be the tools to maintain control over diversity,” reflected Madrazo.

Violence against women, repeatedly left off the agenda

President Díaz-Canel’s call to “discuss the future” rang hollow for activists working for a future free of violence against women, particularly those fighting for a proposed law to criminalize gender-based violence. Violence against women and girls was left off the agenda of the Congress.

As of April 23^rd, 16 women have been murdered in Cuba this year. Violence is also inflicted constantly against women activists in the form of persecution, deprivation of liberty, and threats. In response, a coalition of women’s groups on the island is demanding a comprehensive law on gender-based violence, formally petitioning the National Assembly to take up the issue on November 21^st, 2019.

María Matienzo, a Cuban writer, was unsurprised by the Congress’ failure to address the situation of women and other vulnerable groups, explaining to Race and Equality that the Congress’ purpose was strictly ideological. Although President Díaz-Canel issued a presidential order on April 8^th (International Women’s Day) creating a National Program for the Advancement of Women, Matienzo explained that “this is merely an ideological response from the Party to the demands we have been making for two years.”

Marriage equality delayed again

Marriage equality, an urgent demand from Cuban civil society and a right that must be enshrined for Cuba to fulfill its international obligations, was also left off the agenda. The 2019 Constitution, in defining marriage as a union “between persons,” opened the doors to marriage equality, but the government ultimately capitulated to anti-LGBT sentiment and removed the legalization of non-heteronormative marriage from the text. The government promised to implement marriage equality through the referendum process of the upcoming Family Code, but a year and a half later, no progress has been made on this front.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 situation in Cuba is highly concerning, even as the possibility of mass vaccination approaches with the trials of two vaccines developed on the island. On April 26^th, health authorities counted 23,056 patients in hospitals for COVID-19. Of these, 5,466 were confirmed cases; 3,302 were suspected cases; and 14,288 were “under observation.” The pandemic, however, did not appear on the Congress’ agenda.

Repression

While the Congress unfolded, a series of repressive actions against independent activists, journalists, and artists was also underway. Between April 19^th and 25^th, the civil society organization Cubalex counted 25 cases in which activists and journalists were prevented from leaving their homes by the police. Cubalex also registered at least 15 detentions, principally against members of the San Isidro Movement and the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU).

According to Maria Matienzo, “The Party Congress maintains the machinery of terror. We all have to ask ourselves what will be the next incident of repression, if we will be detained, disappeared for hours at a time, or given arbitrary and unjust prison sentences. Since the Congress was announced, there has been a rise in violence and hate speech.”

It is concerning and disheartening to observe the Communist Party, Cuba’s highest authority, failing to heed the Cuban people’s demands. Race and Equality calls on the Cuban government to prioritize public policies that will respond to unmet basic needs and to end its repression against activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and artists.

Race and Equality also expresses our particular concern at the elevation of Humberto López, host and director of the Cuban television program Hacemos Cuba (We Make Cuba), to membership in the Party’s Central Committee. Under his direction, Hacemos Cuba has launched countless vicious attacks against those who criticize the government and demand respect for human rights.

Race and Equality is committed to the belief that respect for human rights is a necessary base for all societies and the first step towards a dignified and prosperous life for all. We will continue to support independent Cuban civil society organizations in their struggle for human rights and their work to ensure that Cuba’s human rights obligations are enshrined in national politics and society.

Cuba: activists demand an adequate response to the “silent pandemic” of gender-based violence

Washington, D.C., April 12, 2021.- On International Women’s Day 2021 (March 8^th), the Cuban government published Presidential Decree 198/2021, which inaugurated the National Program for the Advancement of Women (known by its Spanish initials, PAM). According to the decree, the PAM “forms the cornerstone in the development of pro-women policies, while furthering the advancement and development of gender equality in Cuba and the institutionalization of this right.”

The decree comes as Cuban activists and civil organizations demand a law against gender-based violence in response to alarming levels of violence against women and girls on the island. So far in 2021, civil society organizations have documented 10 murders of women; civil society counted 32 women, including two girls, murdered in 2020.

Cuban women’s demands

On November 21, 2019, 40 women representing independent civil society submitted a petition to Cuba’s National Assembly requesting a law against gender-based violence, highlighting the following key points, among others:

Article 43 of Cuba’s new constitution (approved in 2019) requires the State to create institutional and legal mechanisms to protect women from gender-based violence.
The 2016 National Survey on Gender Equality found that partner violence is an issue for women across the country and that the majority of survivors do not seek justice or assistance from State institutions.
Cuba’s own National Report on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda (presented in 2019) officially recognized ‘femicides’ as an official category of documentation and analysis.

The National Assembly, however, sent a response to the presenters of the petition on January 10, 2020, informing them that a law against gender-based violence would not be included on the next legislative calendar, which includes all potential bills and laws until 2028.

A campaign for equality

Despite the Assembly’s refusal to consider the matter, activism to fight gender-based violence is vibrant throughout Cuba. Several organizations have pushed the issue forward through Twitter, Facebook, and other online channels. The increasing availability of internet and mobile data in Cuba has allowed these women and other Cuban activists to fight for their rights. Denunciations of sexist violence grow more and more visible, as do activists’ demands.

Cuban civil society organizations emphasize that in the Americas, only Cuba and Haiti lack laws criminalizing femicide. On International Women’s Day 2021, as the government published the decree creating the PAM, women’s organizations published their own manifesto, entitled “Gender-based Violence: The Silent Pandemic,” which documents the various forms of violence facing Cuban women on a daily basis.

“Understanding violence as a personal issue facing individuals puts women into a situation of subordination to men and takes for granted historically unequal power relations between men and women, legitimating the maintenance of men’s domination over women,” the manifesto reads. “This prevents women from denouncing the violence they face due to feelings of fear, shame, or guilt.”

The need for a comprehensive law

Gender-based violence is rooted in the gender inequalities facing women and people with feminine gender identities. These inequalities are imbedded in cultural and social structures, relegating all those who do not fit a male and heterosexual ideal to second-class status. Direct, symbolic, and structural violence are all inflicted upon women, manifesting as physical, verbal, and psychological attacks along with denial of opportunities. Sexism and misogyny also manifest in violence committed against women for reasons of gender, presenting a specific and differentiated threat of femicide.

The Cuban government must act swiftly to approve a comprehensive law addressing gender-based violence. Having signed and ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Cuba is bound to advance legislation promoting gender equality. A law that criminalizes gender-based violence and promotes women’s enjoyment of their rights is a necessary step towards fulfilling Cuba’s commitment under the Convention.

Various international mechanisms have already recommended the passage of such a law. The UN Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, which oversees the implementation of the Convention, expressed concern at the levels of violence against women in Cuba and recommended a law outlawing gender-based violence, acknowledging that gender-based violence against women represents a serious form of discrimination in society.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) also recommended the creation of a legal framework to address women’s rights violations in its last country report on Cuba, including legal standards on discrimination against women. The IACHR also called on Cuba to sign and ratify the Inter-American Convention to Prevent, Sanction, and Eliminate Violence Against Women, known as the Convention of Belem do Para.

Race and Equality urges Cuba to use the creation of the National Program for the Advancement of Women (PAM) as a first step towards the creation of a comprehensive law on gender-based violence. Full implementation of the PAM should include the creation of trustworthy, disaggregated statistics so that Cuban policy can respond to women’s diverse and intersectional needs. With both the COVID-19 pandemic and the ‘silent pandemic’ of violence against women raging across Cuba, such policies will save many women’s lives.

Cuba must also formally recognize and criminalize all forms of violence against women. The end of impunity for these violations is a critical step to advancing women’s well-being. The tireless work of activists in Cuba has made violence against women a pressing issue at the national and international level. Race and Equality is proud to join this campaign and call for the passage of the proposed Comprehensive Law Against Gender-Based Violence.

IACHR begins formal process to determine the State of Cuba’s responsibility for human rights violations against activists

Washington, D.C. – April 8, 2021.- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has agreed to process a petition presented by the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality). In the petition, Race and Equality requested that the Commission find the State of Cuba responsible for human rights violations including arbitrary detention, unjust imprisonment, and torture against members of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) between October 2019 and April 2020.

The petition lists José Daniel Ferrer García (UNPACU’s founder and leader), Fernando González Vaillant, Roilan Zarraga Ferrer, and José Pupo Chaveco as victims, documenting that the four men were detained without an arrest warrant on October 1^st, 2019, in violation of both Cuban law and Cuba’s international human rights commitments.[1]

Race and Equality has requested that the IACHR declare the State of Cuba responsible for violations of the men’s rights to freedom, security, personal integrity, freedom of expression, protection of personal reputation and honor, familial protection, health, protection from arbitrary detention, and due process, all of which are guaranteed in the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man. Race and Equality also requested that the IACHR officially establish a legal category of “political prisoner” to characterize the four victim’s situations. The Commission transmitted the petition to the State of Cuba, requesting the State’s observations and response within a period of three months (beginning March 15^th of this year).

With the petition now in processing, the Commission will receive arguments from both Race and Equality and the State regarding the admissibility of the case under the Commission’s rules of procedure. Should the case be found admissible, the Commission will investigate the facts of the case to determine whether the State is responsible for human rights violations and, if so, what recommendations will be given to the State to ensure justice.

Continuous violence against UNPACU

After being detained on October 1^st, 2019, the four UNPACU members were placed in pre-trial detention, where they suffered inhumane prison conditions for six months and two days before being released to parole or house arrest on April 3^rd, 2020. During their time in prison, they experienced cruel treatment, were often prevented from communicating with the outside world, and suffered violations of their personal integrity.

These violations are only some examples of the constant repression that UNPACU suffers at the hands of the Cuban government, which works ceaselessly to prevent the organization from carrying out its mission of defending human rights and promoting democracy.

Led by José Daniel Ferrer, dozens of UNPACU members have been on hunger strike since March 20^th to protest a police cordon that has surrounded UNPACU’s offices for over three weeks. During this standoff, police have arbitrarily arrested several UNPACU members and members of Ferrer’s family.

On April 7^th, the Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) announced that the organization is on “high alert” regarding the health and well-being of the hunger strikers. The OAS also condemned the Cuban government for carrying its repression of UNPACU to such extremes. IACHR Commissioner Stuardo Ralón, the Commission’s Rapporteur on Cuba, also expressed his solidarity with the strikers, calling on the State to comply with its human rights obligations and avoid “risking the life and integrity of the people, who are already suffering a visible physical deterioration.”

Race and Equality calls on the Cuban government to end its repression of UNPACU and its members and to heed the demands of independent civil society as it calls for democracy and respect for human rights in Cuba.

[1] Race and Equality included José Pupo Chaveco as one of the victims in the original petition submitted in 2020. Since then, Mr. Chaveco has left UNPACU and is no longer in communication with the organization or with Race and Equality. He is no longer represented by Race and Equality.

Cuba: The International Community Must Demand Accountability from the Cuban Government For Its Actions and to Immediately Stop Unlawful Short-term Arbitrary Detentions, House Arrests, Forced Exile, and Smear Campaigns against Dissenting Voices

In response to the aggressive acts committed by police officers in recent weeks against Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) activists on hunger strike; the beatings and arrests of members of the San Isidro Movement; the forced exile imposed on Cuban citizens, making them stateless; permanent house arrests; and smear campaigns against journalists, artists, and dissidents, the undersigned 7 organizations issue the following statement:

“We are deeply concerned about the ongoing pattern of repression against critical voices which are freely expressing themselves over the current status quo in the country. We call on the international community to urgently focus on Cuba. International organizations, the foreign press, democratic governments, and embassies present in Havana must rigorously monitor systemic human rights violations, provide assistance to human rights defenders who suffer abuse, and demand a reliable response from the Cuban government. There is an urgent need for solidarity for the victims and a common international position against the abuses perpetrated by Cuban State Security. These acts cannot be normalized in the eyes of global public opinion.

The Cuban government must immediately act with accountability and end the police siege and physical attacks directed against UNPACU members, who in response have been on hunger strike for more than 20 days. The beatings against members of the San Isidro Movement and the short-term arrests carried out by civilian officers against these and other artists, journalists, and dissidents must end. It is unacceptable that the Cuban government has converted the activists’ homes into permanent prisons, and that it continues to intimidate its emigrants with the condemnation of statelessness. The media manipulation campaigns deployed by official press outlets, which constitutes incitement to hatred and violence against those who disagree with the political system, must be urgently denounced.”

Background

On March 20th, after years spent seeking an international response to serious human rights violations, UNPACU leader José Daniel Ferrer[1] and nearly 50 of its members began a hunger strike as a final plea for Cuban State Security to end a siege against the organization. Despite the delicate physical and mental state of the 31 activists who were 15 days into their strike, mobs organized by the Cuban authorities stoned Ferrer and his wife, Nelva Ortega Tamayo, on April 3rd. The authorities also cut internet and telecommunications access and have even detained the children of those who remained on strike. As the country faces an ever-mounting economic and humanitarian crisis, UNPACU has become a staple in the community, providing basic hard-to-find food and medicine.

During the first quarter of 2021, the wave of repression also impacted members of the San Isidro Movement (MSI), a group of artists who launched their own hunger strike in November 2020 and who have been outspoken against restrictions to their freedom of expression. In recent months, the state security has used tactics that have essentially transformed activists’ homes into makeshift prisons, preventing the occupants from leaving. Short-term arbitrary detentions, involving physical violence and mental abuse, have been disproportionately used as a tactic to silence dissent. Luis Manuel Otero and Maykel Obsorbo, two of the primary targets, have frequently returned home with bruises, cuts, and torn clothing.

We have also witnessed a spate of arrests and detentions, that last no more than a few hours, carried out by undercover officers who do not inform their victims or document their actions in official records. On April 5th, activists and journalists Luis Manuel Otero, Hector Luis Valdés, Esteban Rodríguez, María Matienzo, Kirenia Yailit, and Manuel Cruz were detained in Havana. In Camagüey, Bárbaro de Céspedes remained unaccounted for several days, after being arrested at the door of a church. He had been carrying a wooden cross bearing the inscription “61 years of communism” as a symbol of protest.

In another instance where the Cuban government has backtracked on its human rights commitments, journalist Karla Pérez González was prohibited from entering the country on March 18th. Upon graduating from the University of Costa Rica, Pérez González had legally requested and received the documentation needed to return home to Cuba. However, upon landing at her connecting airport in Panama, state officials informed airline representatives that she was banned from entering Cuba. Pérez González was forced to return to Costa Rica, where she finally received political refuge. The Cuban government continues to intimidate its emigrants by threatening to prohibit their return home if they speak out against government policies while abroad.

In addition to the aforementioned events, the government has renewed its media-defamation strategy, which is deployed by the state-run media against independent artists, journalists, and activists. This mechanism seeks to curb critical voices and intimidate victims and their families, while also condemning international support for domestic civil society voices, which are labeled “mercenaries” or “enemies of the homeland.”

At the international level, Cuba has not ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, nor the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Furthermore, the Cuban government has not extended an invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which visits political prisoners, has not been able to enter Cuba since 1989. Cuba is also the only country in the Americas that Amnesty International has not been able to visit since 1990, and it is the only country with a closed civic space in the Americas according to the CIVICUS Monitor, an online platform that records civic rights violations globally. Lastly, in the newly released 2021 edition of Freedom House’s Freedom in the World report, Cuba was rated Not Free, earning 13 out of 100 possible points—the lowest score in Latin America.

List of signatories:

CADAL

CIVICUS

Civil Rights Defenders

Freedom House

People in Need

Race and Equality

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

[1] Ferrer is one of the most prominent opposition leaders on the island. He suffered an arduous period in Cuban prisons in 2019. Amnesty International also previously recognized Ferrer as a prisoner of conscience while he was incarcerated from 2003 to 2011, when he was a victim of a wave of government repression against dissidents known as the “Black Spring”; 75 people were sentenced to long prison terms under Law 88: The Protection of National Independence and the Economy of Cuba.

International Day of Trans Visibility: Honoring the struggle to protect and promote trans rights in the Americas

Washington, D.C.; March 29, 2021 – On the eve of International Day of Trans Visibility (March 31), the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) honors the activists who work tirelessly to protect and promote the human rights of trans people in Latin America and the Caribbean. We also call upon all States to put in place laws and policies that ensure respect, recognition, and full enjoyment of rights for the region’s trans population.

Sadly, for yet another year, the Day of Trans Visibility will be marked by a lack of recognition and protection for trans people in the Americas, resulting in threats, physical and verbal attacks, persecution, exclusion, and the deaths of people with diverse gender expressions and/or identities. According to the international organization Trans Respect vs. Transphobia, of the 350 killings of trans people that were reported worldwide between October 1, 2019 and September 30, 2020, 82% took place in Latin America.

The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the already-vulnerable situation of trans people throughout 2020. Some governments failed to consider trans people’s needs when designing gender-based pandemic response measures, exposing trans citizens to sanctions for supposedly violating these measures. Meanwhile, both police violence and violent criminal attacks against trans people increased during the year, especially violence against trans women sex workers.

Despite this adverse context, however, activists and civil society organizations remain firm in their commitment to fight for trans people’s fundamental rights. Race and Equality applauds the trans community’s efforts throughout the region and is committed to providing support and technical assistance as civil society advocates before regional and international human rights bodies.

To commemorate International Day of Trans Visibility, Race and Equality spoke with activists from around the region about their work and about their visions for a just society. These activists spoke of great challenges, but also of the victories they have won and their dreams for the future.

Recognition and respect

The Brazilian journalist Caê Vasconcelos told us that society needs to learn to see trans men in their full and complex totality. Caê, himself a trans man, said, “we should be able to bring our whole life stories, experiences of life, struggle, love, care, and all the power that our trans bodies have.” He emphasized that a lack of knowledge of trans people’s experiences renders them invisible in Brazilian society. This invisibility manifests, for example, in a total lack of gynecological or pregnancy care for trans men. Making trans people’s needs visible is a vital step to honoring their existence and ensuring their rights as full citizens.

This invisibility also results in transphobia and violence against trans people as Brazil’s cis-heteronormative structures lash out against those who are different. As the National Association of Travestis[1] and Transsexual People (ANTRA) reported in their Dossier on Homicides and Violence against Travestis and Transsexual People in Brazil (2020), some conservative ideologies and political sectors encourage this hatred, leading to Brazil’s status as the country with the most murders of trans people.

In Nicaragua, the human rights activist and former political prisoner Victoria Obando sums up the trans movement’s demands as, “Stop killing us.” Recently, Nicaragua’s LGBT community was horrified by the brutal murder of Anahís “Lala” Contreras, a 22-year-old trans women who was beaten by two men and dragged behind a horse. For Victoria, such a grotesque act reveals the levels of violence and exclusion facing trans people in Nicaragua.

The case of Celia Cruz is indicative of the arbitrary persecution and criminalization that trans Nicaraguans have suffered at the hands of their government throughout the socio-political crisis that began in April 2018. Celia, a trans woman, has been held in a men’s prison since April 21, 2020, where she is serving a 10-year sentence after being convicted of obstruction of justice and kidnapping for ransom.

Tomás Anzola, coordinator of the Trans Support and Action Group (GAAT) in Colombia, told Race and Equality that he wishes “for trans people to be able to construct our own identities and bodily experiences in loving and safe environments, in the company of our support networks.” In Colombia, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased violence against trans people, with 28 trans people (27 women and 1 man) killed in 2020 and 6 already killed in 2021.

As Colombian society debates the decriminalization of abortion, several trans organizations have spoken out about the need to ensure that reproductive rights extend to trans Colombians, emphasizing that denying such rights to trans people denies their very identities. These organizations are also demanding reforms to the National Police after an attack against a trans woman in Soacha (Cundinamarca department) in which police officers insulted, attacked, and sexually abused her.

Colombia’s trans activists and organizations make clear that Colombia has not yet implemented effective public policies guaranteeing full recognition and enjoyment of trans people’s rights. This failure, they emphasize, leaves trans people highly vulnerable to prejudice and violence.

Living without fear

Isabella Fernández, an activist with the Peruvian organization Féminas, told Race and Equality that above all, she wishes for trans people to be able to grow up in homes free of violence and discrimination. Worldwide, trans people and others with diverse gender expressions and/or identities frequently leave home after being rejected by their families, putting them at risk of violence and other harm.

In Peru, organizations fighting for LGBT rights are working towards a national law on gender identity, seeking to ensure that trans people can have their genders recognized by public and private institutions. Currently, those whose genders do not correspond with their civil registrations or identity documents struggle to access health services, education, jobs, and housing.

The Dominican activist Geisha Collins, part of the organization Trans Siempre Amigas (Trans Always Friends, or TRANSSA) shared with us that trans women must have access to identity documents that reflect their genders, which is why TRANSSA is fighting for a gender identity law in the Dominican Republic. Geisha also works to fulfill trans Dominicans’ right to health services that reflect their needs and for access to education, work, and the justice system without discrimination.

TRANSSA is also leading a national campaign for the General Law on Equality and Non-discrimination, which will put into practice the guarantees of Article 39 of the Dominican Constitution. The draft law includes sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories, outlawing “the denial of the right to enjoy a gender identity of one’s choosing,” which in turn “implies the right to reassign one’s gender or image on public documents.”

Race and Equality laments the lack of recognition for trans people on the part of States and societies in Latin America and the Caribbean, which in turn leads to violence and human rights violations. We support the demands of trans activists and organizations across the region and call on States to respect and protect all people’s human rights, without regard for their sexual orientation or gender identity and/or expression. We recommend the following steps to governments across the region:

Approve gender identity laws that allow trans people to exercise their citizenship under the correct gender without obstacles or delay, as called for in Consultative Opinion 24-17 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Strengthen programs to train public servants, including the police and judiciary, on gender identity and trans issues.
Investigate and sanction all acts of violence against trans people, guaranteeing protection and respect to trans people throughout the process.
Implement public education and awareness-raising campaigns to promote respect for LGBTI people and their rights.
Create specific public health protocols for attending to trans people and people with diverse gender identities and/or expressions.
Collect and publish disaggregated data on violence against LGBTI people, using an intersectional approach.
Sign and ratify the Inter-American Convention against All Forms of Discrimination.

[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.

Cuba: IACHR grants precautionary measures to Maria Matienzo Puerto, an independent journalist, and Kirenia Núñez Perez, a human rights defender

Washington, D.C. March 23, 2021.- The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has granted precautionary measures in favor of Cuban independent journalist/writer Maria Matienzo Puerto and human rights activist Kirenia Núñez Perez, after considering them to be in a serious and urgent situation, given that their right to life and personal integrity are at risk of irreparable harm.

According to Resolution 21/2021, the IACHR determined that the couple has been at risk due to threats, harassment, intimidation and aggression, along with defamatory messages over the course of approximately seven years. The Commission also noted that it requested information from the State on June 18, 2020 and, to date, it has not received any response.

In analyzing the risk, urgency and irreparability of the situation, the IACHR noted with concern one such defamatory message aimed at Ms. Núñez Perez to “control” her partner, Ms. Matienzo Puerto. According to the Commission, this message exemplifies the existence of a gender prejudice towards the work that women human rights defenders carry out, and it generates a situation of “elevated” risk towards prejudices associated with “the role that they (women) must play in society.”

In analyzing the facts, the IACHR requested that the Cuban state: a) adopt the necessary measures to protect the rights to life and personal integrity of both Matienzo Puerto and Nuñez Perez; b) adopt the necessary measures so that the beneficiaries can carry out their activities as independent journalist and human rights defender, respectively, without being subjected to acts of violence, threats, intimidation and harassment when carrying out their work; c) agree on the measures to be adopted with the beneficiaries and their representatives; and d) report on the measures taken to investigate the alleged actions that led to the adoption of these precautionary measures, and thus avoiding their repetition.

Intimidation and persecution

Ms. Matienzo Puerto and Ms. Nuñez Perez – who as a couple share the same residence – are victims of continuous intimidation and persecution at the hands of State agents, as well as civilians who identify as siding with the government. This situation also translates into online abuse on social media.

The most recent repressive act against Ms. Matienzo Puerto (not included in the IACHR resolution) took place on March 12, when officials without identification intercepted her as she was leaving her home. She was forced to get into a vehicle and was kept in custody at a police station for several hours, without anyone knowing her whereabouts. At the police station, officials interrogated and threatened her for her work as an independent journalist, and for having contact or being friends with other independent activists.

Race and Equality calls on the Cuban State to adopt the necessary measures to safeguard the life and integrity of Maria Matienzo Puerto and Kirenia Núñez Perez, in accordance with its human rights obligations and as a member of the Inter-American Human Rights System. We also call on the authorities to guarantee and respect the work of independent journalists and human rights defenders on the Island.

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Afro-descendants call on States to address COVID-19 through inclusive and effective public policies

Washington, D.C., March 19, 2021.– One year after the arrival of COVID-19 to the Americas, the pandemic continues to impact the region’s Afro-descendant population in distinct and disproportionate ways. As we approach International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21), the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) calls on States across the region to tackle the pandemic with public policies that account for this differential impact and guarantee economic recovery for all.

In our work defending and promoting human rights across Latin America and the Caribbean alongside historically marginalized groups such as Afro-descendants, we have tracked the pandemic’s impact on vulnerable populations and studied government responses across the region. According to the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the region’s 130 million Afro-descendants make up 21% of the total population.

Different conditions, different impacts

COVID-19’s distinct and disproportionate impact on Afro-descendants is rooted in the structural racism, structural discrimination, and exclusion from which Afro-descendants were suffering before the pandemic due to both actions and omissions by regional governments. From the very beginning of the pandemic, this marginalization manifested as a lack of information in Afro-descendant communities about how to prevent infection and serious difficulties in accessing national health systems for those infected. Over the course of the pandemic, a surge of violence in countries such as Brazil and Colombia, perpetrated by both the police and criminal groups, has further threatened Afro-descendants’ rights.

Other than Brazil, no country has issued official statistics on how many Afro-descendants have contracted or died from COVID-19. Civil society organizations, however, have continued to document the inequalities facing Afro-descendants throughout the pandemic. In August 2020, Race and Equality published a report addressing the situation of Afro-descendants during the pandemic. Paola Yáñez, regional coordinators of the Network of Afro-Latina, Afro-Caribbean, and Disapora Women, is quoted in the report as saying, “COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, but we feel its effects in distinct ways because we don’t live in the same conditions.”

A regional view

Race and Equality’s partner organizations in the region emphasize that Afro-descendants began the pandemic in a situation of particular risk due to the discrimination and exclusion shaping their lives. When the pandemic took hold, government responses were generally inadequate and failed to account for the particular situations of Afro-descendant communities.

In Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro continues to deny the severity of the pandemic, Afro-descendants represent 67% of those who rely on the public health system. The majority of Brazilians who suffer from diabetes, tuberculosis, hypertension, and chronic kidney issues, all of which are aggravating factors for COVID-19, are also of African descent. According to the Brazilian Institute on Geography and Population, the COVID mortality rate for Afro-Brazilians has been 92 deaths per 100,000 people, while for the white population it has been 88 per 100,000.

In Colombia, Afro-descendant organizations have raised the alarm regarding their communities’ vulnerability to the pandemic, stemming from poor coverage by the public health and social security systems in majority-Afro-descendant areas. In cities such as Buenaventura (Valle de Cauca department) and Quidbó (Chocó department), the local hospital attends to 400,000 to 500,000 people without sufficient personnel or resources.

The Cuban government has used policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as a cover for police actions that prevent human rights defenders from carrying out their work. Members of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR), for example, have suffered arbitrary detentions, police raids, and attacks throughout their campaign demanding that the government implement its touted National Program Against Racism and Racial Discrimination.

In Nicaragua, the impact of the pandemic is largely unknown due to the government’s refusal to publish thorough and timely statistical reports. Afro-descendant and indigenous populations on the Caribbean coast, however, entered the pandemic in a situation of extreme precarity due to violent land invasions and a lack of health and education services. Their vulnerability to the pandemic has only worsened due to the impact of hurricanes Eta and Iota in November 2020.

In Mexico and Peru, both of which are among the hardest-hit countries in the region and the world, Afro-descendant communities have faced particular challenges. In Mexico, the 2020 census-which, thanks to the efforts of Afro-Mexican activists, was the first to include self-identification of Afro-Mexicans-coincided with the pandemic and was severely limited. In Peru, the official response to the pandemic was hampered by a political crisis stemming from the removal of President Martín Vizcarra.

The Convention against Racism is more important than ever

As we approach International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and in the context of the International Decade for People of African Descent, Race and Equality calls on all States to adopt the necessary measures to fight racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and the intersecting forms of intolerance that afflict people of African descent. These measures include legal reforms, the adoption of international instruments, and the implementation of effective policies.

Race and Equality continues to call upon States to ratify the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Forms of Intolerance. The Convention represents an effective and comprehensive framework for guaranteeing the enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights of Afro-descendant people. To date, only Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, and Brazil (as of February of this year) have ratified the Convention. Brazilian civil society organizations continue to work to ensure that the Convention is implemented.

Race and Equality calls upon States to:

Undertake public policies that combat structural racism and racial discrimination against Afro-descendant people.
Improve national health, employment, and educations systems, including by eliminating the gulf between urban and rural areas.
Prioritize Afro-descendant and indigenous communities in post-pandemic economic recovery plans.
Incorporate particular efforts to address Afro-descendants into emergency response plans. These efforts should respect Afro-descendants’ right to free, prior, and informed consent; account for intersectional human rights issues; and address the needs of vulnerable populations such as children, women, displaced people, migrants, and LGBTI people.
Create permanent programs to collect accurate, detailed, and disaggregated data on health, education, employment, and access to justice.

Race and Equality joins UN Special Rapporteur in calling on Cuba to end the intimidation and detention of Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR) members

Washington, D.C.; March 11, 2021.- The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) welcomes the comments of Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, calling on the Cuban government to end its program of intimidation and detentions against members of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR).

“The recurrent arrests of human rights defenders on the island, the lack of access to legal representation while they are detained and the surveillance exercised by agents of the Department of State Security is contrary to international law and must cease,” said Lawlor, pointing out that CIR has suffered such abuses since 2017. She also noted that the Cuban government has prevented CIR’s members from traveling to international human rights-related events without explanation or justification.

Lawlor reported that Cuban human rights defenders are the victims of attacks and “suffer limitations to their freedom of movement due to what appears to be an intelligence network that begins with the misuse of criminal law and ends with harassment by the authorities.” She added that human rights defenders “must not be subjected to reprisals because of their legitimate work to help create a civil and just society.”

The Special Rapporteur’s comments were endorsed by five members of the UN Expert Working Group on Persons of African Descent, including Working Group president Dominique Day, and by the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association, Clément Nyaletsossi Voule.

Afro-Cuban activists under attack

Race and Equality welcomes the Special Rapporteur’s comments, which come at a time when the Cuban government is intensifying its persecution and criminalization of independent civil society figures, including members of CIR. In retaliation for their work on racial justice, CIR’s members have suffered repression at the hands of Cuban authorities and defamation by government-linked figures.

In a recent interview on the television program Cubavision International, the vice president of the Cuban Union of Writers and Artists (UNEAC) and president of the Aponte Commission (UNEAC’s commission on issues of race and racism) Pedro de la Hoz attacked CIR and the independent organization Cofradía de la Negritud (Black Brotherhood/Sisterhood), calling them “disgusting” and “mercenaries” for their efforts to use UN and Inter-American mechanisms to denounce human rights violations and racial discrimination in Cuba.

Race and Equality notes that Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna, CIR’s national coordinator, was detained arbitrarily on November 12, 2020 after Department of State Security agents raided his house in Havana and confiscated belongings from him and his sister. Marthadela Tamayo González and Osvaldo Navarro Veloz, both CIR members, were detained on November 22, 2020 during a protest in Havana’s Central Park.

Race and Equality rejects any discourse that stigmatizes the work of human rights defenders and exposes them to retaliation at the hands of authorities or pro-government actors. We demand that the Cuban State respect independent civil society’s rights to freedom of expression and association, reminding the State that Juan Antonio Madrazo Luna, Marthadela Tamayo González, and Osvaldo Navarro Veloz are all beneficiaries of precautionary measures granted by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

As International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (March 21st) approaches, we call on the Cuban authorities to guarantee full protection for the rights of Afro-Cubans, in line with Cuba’s international human rights commitments.

Photo: CIR members Marthadela Tamayo and Juan Antonio Madrazo (center) participate in a hearing at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in March 2017 (IACHR/Flickr)

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 4^th 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.

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Race and Equality joins UN Special Rapporteur in calling on Cuba to end the intimidation and detention of Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration (CIR) members

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

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”

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