Race and Equality calls on Latin American States for more inclusive measures to be taken for transgender people

Race and Equality calls on Latin American States for more inclusive measures to be taken for transgender people

Washington D.C., March 31st 2020. Today we commemorate the International Transgender Visibility Day, a day to celebrate transgender lives and raise awareness about the discrimination this population faces. On this day, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), wants to give visibility to the issues transgender people face throughout Latin America.

All over the world, racism and other forms of discrimination marginalize and ostracize the trans population. This makes access to health services, education, work, and housing extremely difficult.  Unfortunately, States limited disaggregated data on the situation of trans people rendering them invisible from groups targeted for public policies designated to support vulnerable situations, especially in Latin America. Combined, these factors place them in vulnerable situations where they are more susceptible to different illnesses, addictions, and violence.

Violence against the trans community in Latin America

The trans community continues to face severe incidents of violence. For example, Brazil remains the leading country in trans homicides around the world with 127 registered cases[1], closely followed by Colombia who ranks third, with 21 recorded crimes against this population[2].  According to data collected by the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (ANTRA) in Brazil, there was a 90% increase in the first bimester of this year (38) compared to the same period last year (20).[3] According to these statistics, in some countries, to identify as trans is to sign a death sentence.

In Perú, the trans community continues to face large amounts of violence and discrimination. During the 2020 congressional elections, Gahela Cari, the first transgender candidate to run for Congress in Peru, tried to cast her vote when a member of the National Jury of Elections (JNE) refused to recognize her gender identity. Similarly, members of the polling station in Lambayeque harassed Fiorella Mimbela, an LGBTI+ activist, when her legal name and image were spread around social media networks.[4] These are not isolated acts but part of a wider pattern of rejection and violence the Peruvian trans community faces.

In the Dominican Republic, LGBTI organizations have recorded around 48 transgender homicides since 2006. Out of these 48 only 5 have verdicts, demonstrating the trans community not only faces high levels of violence but also faces barriers in access to justice. A more recent case shows that strangers are not always the perpetrators of these heinous acts. Willianny, a trans woman, had both her hair and breasts cut off by her own family members before her funeral, a repudiation of her identity. One LGBT activist, Yimbert Feliz Telemin, commented that “in the Dominican Republic being trans is worse than being a street dog.”[5]

Continual work must be done in order to combat the discrimination and violence against the trans population. Race and Equality calls on all Latin American and Caribbean States to sign and ratify the Inter-American Convention Against all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance[6] and, for States that have not done so, legally recognize the gender identity of trans and non-binary people in accordance with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Advisory Opinion 24-17[7]. Additionally, we remind States that many members of the trans community are sex workers and depend on their profession to survive. We call on States to safeguard their rights and guarantee they will not be the object of cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment.

Gender Identity

Much of the discrimination against the trans population is also created from the lack of recognition of their identity.  As ANTRA describes it, it is not only the denial of their name, but their identity, “an appropriation by a society that frequently prefers to expose rather than welcome.”[8] Oftentimes, countries such as the Dominican Republic do not allow trans people to legally change their name while other countries place hurdles such as high costs, long bureaucratic processes, or as in Peru, require the process to be through the courts. Having the correct documentation is just the first step of many to demarginalize trans people from different public spaces. 

In countries where name recognition is legal, there continue to be issues with the lack of information regarding the process, both in relation to the necessary procedures and what to do in cases of discrimination. In rural areas all these issues are exacerbated. Bruna Benavides from ANTRA in Brazil notes that there is little investment in training or capacity building programs for trans leaders, so that they can provide the necessary assistance for people to complete the rectification of their documents.

Trans people during the pandemic

In collaboration with our partners we also ask for the inclusion of trans people in all public policies created due to COVID-19, not only at the local and state level, but also at a federal level, especially those developed to aid low-income, self-employed, and unemployed people. During this time, the stigma and discrimination against the trans population has become more visible. We call on States to guarantee their access to health and put in place protocols that will ensure they are treated humanely and not discriminated against because of their gender identity.

[1] Associação Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais do Brasil (ANTRA); Instituto Brasileiro Trans de educação (IBTE). “Dossiê Assassinatos e violência contra travestis e transexuais no Brasil em 2019”. 2020.

[2] https://www.rcnradio.com/colombia/colombia-tercer-pais-en-america-con-mayor-riesgo-para-personas-trans

[3]Associação Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais do Brasil (ANTRA); Instituto Brasileiro Trans de educação (IBTE). “Dossiê Assassinatos e violência contra travestis e transexuais no Brasil em 2019”. 2020.

[4] https://larepublica.pe/genero/2020/01/27/elecciones-2020-gahela-cari-y-fiorella-mimbela-denunciaron-discriminacion-y-transfobia-en-lima-y-lambayeque-transgenero-atmp/?fbclid=IwAR19ssnwXobbu2OkKcjMSZGvPqvRDKc2nkP0N93Hky31Wcz-Smb6nBYdB8s

[5] https://plumasatomicas.com/lgbt/familia-mutilo-senos-cabello-mujer-trans/

[6] To date only Uruguay and Mexico have signed and ratified this Convention. Avaiable at: http://www.oas.org/es/sla/ddi/tratados_multilaterales_interamericanos_A-69_discriminacion_intolerancia.asp

[7] https://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/opiniones/seriea_24_esp.pdf

[8] Associação Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais do Brasil (ANTRA); Instituto Brasileiro Trans de educação (IBTE). “Dossiê Assassinatos e violência contra travestis e transexuais no Brasil em 2019” 2020.

March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Message from Carlos Quesada, executive director of Race and Equality

Washington DC, 2020, May 21st. Today we commemorate once again the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a day that we at the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), take as an opportunity to remember our universal rights to equality and non-discrimination. This message must be echoed in a context of growing intolerance, hate, and superiority speech that do not contribute to the development and well-being of our society.

We have been commemorating this day since 1966, in memory of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre in South Africa, when police opened fire and killed 69 people who were protesting peacefully against the Apartheid Pass Laws. Since then, racial discrimination has subsided considerably in Africa and also in Latin America.

This year, Mexico ratified the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance, thus joining Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Antigua and Barbuda; and also ratified the Inter-American Convention against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, which entered into force with this ratification.

Also in Mexico, the inclusion of the Afro-descendant self-identification question was achieved for the first time in the 2020 Census. However, it was included late in the process, so Afro-Mexican organizations had to start their awareness campaigns just a few months before the census, which is being carried out this month. Currently, the campaign continues with great force led by the Collective to Eliminate Racism in Mexico (COPERA, for its initials in Spanish) along with Race and Equality and in alliance with some government agencies and Afro-Mexican organizations.

In Panama, we are concerned that the census scheduled for May 2020 was postponed until the first quarter of 2021, due to delays with the bidding process. This implied that all progress made on the 2020 Census was suspended, and adjustments to the next steps represent a great challenge. This is because there are several actions that must be carried out such as updating the budget, cartography, and identifying and hiring personnel, among many other duties. However, this period has allowed for the promotion of self-identification among Afro-descendants in both rural and urban communities.

In Colombia, the number of social leaders assassinated in 2019 was alarming: at least 253, of which 91 were Afro-descendant and indigenous leaders, according to the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ, for its initials in Spanish). Patterns of structural racial discrimination continue to prevent Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities from having effective enjoyment of their economic, social, and cultural rights compared to the rest of the Colombian society. It is a matter of concern that given this situation, the Colombian government has not guaranteed an adequate statistical estimate of the Afro-Colombian population. This is reflected in the 2018 Census, where the black, palenquera and raizal population was reduced by 31% compared to the 2005 Census. The Government is also not offering the conditions needed for the implementation of the Peace Agreement with an ethnic-differential approach.

In Brazil, between January and February 2020, 38 trans women were killed, of whom 75% were Afro-Brazilian. This figure is particularly worrisome because it is 90% higher compared to last year’s figures. In general, most LGBT crimes are committed against Afro-descendants, according to data from the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (ANTRA, for its initials in Portuguese).

In Cuba, there is still no implementation plan for the International Decade for People of African Descent. We have managed to document that the majority of the activists who are victims repression by the Cuban Government are Afro-descendants, such as Juan Antonio Madrazo, Marthadela Tamayo or Nancy Alfaya. From the State’s side, there is no opening to recognize the existence of racial discrimination on the island.

From Race and Equality, we will continue to make visible, fight, and denounce the marginalization and injustices that Afro-descendant populations face in the Americas. We will continue to work, especially in the company of our counterparts in the region, who, from their communities, contribute to tehe construction of a more equal society.

Aymara Nieto’s Story: A Female Political Prisoner of the Cuban State

Across Cuba, children love to dance and act in their school plays. But for Aymara Nieto’s two daughters, ages 7 and 12, something is always missing when their school puts on a pageant. Their mother has not been able to watch them perform since 2018, when she was arrested for exercising her right to protest.

“The girls want to have their mother there for their school activities, and that has been taken from them. They have had to be so strong to live with what is happening,” according to Aymara’s mother Griselda Muñoz.

For a while, Aymara’s daughters could visit her once a month in El Guatao prison, where they could hug her, exchange letters and tell her about the milestones that she could not be present for. But in March of this year, Aymara was transferred to the El Manati women’s prison in Las Tunas, over 400 miles from her children in Havana. No explanation was given for this transfer, which will make it almost impossible for Ayamara’s mother and children to visit her.

Arrest and Trial

Aymara, 43, is a member of the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White), a group made up mostly of wives and relatives of Cuba’s political prisoners. The Damas protest once a week to demand freedom for prisoners of conscience. Aymara, who had previously taken part in other activist efforts, joined the Damas after her husband Ismael Bori Reñi was arrested for his involvement with the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) in April 2018.

On May 6, 2018, Aymara intended to take part in a campaign called “We All March,” aimed at pressuring the government to release political prisoners. But the march would not go according to the organizers’ plans.

“Right when she left the house, they detained her. Some female police officers immediately grabbed her and started pulling her hair and hitting her without saying a word. They took her to the prison in Santiago de Las Vegas and held her for several days, probably so that her bruises would subside,” says Griselda.

After holding her for fifteen days, the authorities allowed Aymara to see her family. “They’re up to their tricks; they did this to shut me up,” she told Griselda. Sure enough, in March 2019, Aymara was sentenced to four years in prison for the supposed offenses of “assault” and “causing damages.” At her trial, the prosecutor claimed that Aymara “led an act against the revolutionary process” and that while she was being arrested, she “tore a police officer’s clothing and struck her, causing scratches to her neck.”

State authorities did not permit Aymara to have her own lawyer during the trial, failed to adhere to various deadlines and procedures, held the trial behind closed doors and ignored clear signs of bias on the part of the judge.

Life in Prison

Life in Cuban prisons is complex and delicate, especially for a political prisoner. Aymara’s rights to health, food and dignified treatment are not respected. Shortages of medicine are frequent, meals are scant and unhealthy, her family visits are monitored and mistreatment at the hands of guards is frequent. Any attempt to report these violations is punished, including through the use of solitary confinement.

“My daughter’s rights are being violated while time flies by. It hurts me as well; she is my only daughter,” says Griselda.

Aymara’s husband Ismael also remains behind bars; he is expected to be released in late March. The two were previously arrested for distributing informative materials in 2016 and sentenced to a year in prison on charges of public disorder. They were freed in July 2018, but Ismael was re-arrested repeatedly for the rest of the year and eventually sentenced to two more years for “contempt.” The couple have had their requests for conjugal visits, the only avenue for them to see each other, denied for the past four months.

Today

Griselda, aged 63, has moved into Aymara’s house in order to keep it up and care for her two granddaughters. She is the only source of economic support for herself, her granddaughters, Aymara and Ismael. Aymara’s oldest daughter, who is 24 years old, lives elsewhere.

“It’s a very heavy load. At my age, I’m not as spry, but I keep working so they don’t go hungry,” explains Griselda, who has worked as a cook and a receptionist since Aymara’s sentencing. She and her granddaughters attend church each Sunday, which she says is her source of strength to keep going and to fight for her daughter’s release. “Aymara has always been a fighter, that’s why they’re after her so badly. That’s why they locked her up and why they do what they do to her – they know she is true to her principles, the principles of the Damas de Blanco.”

Maritza’s story is not unique: the urgent need for a law against gender-based violence in Cuba

Eleven years of abuse and mistreatment came to a head all in one day. Maritza had been married to Osvaldo, a machista and an alcoholic, for eleven years. One afternoon in 1999, Osvaldo came home drunk, shouting at Maritza to prepare dinner for her family of nine.

“At that moment, I didn’t know what to do. I felt lost amidst all the shouting and insults. Even though it wasn’t the first time that he had shouted at me and called me a b****, I was at a loss. Suddenly in that moment, I was finished putting up with all the bad things that I had withstood for eleven years. I didn’t hesitate to talk back to him; I told him that he had been unfaithful and had never valued me for all those years,” remembers Maritza.

Osvaldo responded violently, punching her and pushing her to ground, then kicking her repeatedly.

“I was so broken in that moment that I got up from the floor, grabbed a knife and stabbed him four times. I was in shock. I didn’t know whether to help him or leave him there. Nobody in our house had come to help me when he mistreated me, but in that moment everyone came to help him,” she says.

Osvaldo was taken to the hospital for surgery, where he stayed for several weeks. Osvaldo’s family reported Maritza to the police, who arrested her shortly after. She was tried, found guilty of assaulting Osvaldo and sentenced to six years in prison. The violence that Osvaldo inflicted upon her during their marriage was never discussed in her trial.

“It was as if all the evidence pointed to my being guilty of stabbing him, and I know that I am responsible for doing that and that things didn’t have to get to that point, but when you suffer so much abuse for so many years, there comes a point when you’re sick and tired and you do whatever comes into your mind,” remembers Maritza. “I wasn’t going to continue putting up wth any more abuse.”

While she was imprisoned, her children lived with Maritza’s mother. Osvaldo never sought custody of the children. After four years in prison, Maritza was released for good behavior.

In prison, Maritza got to know many women with similar stories of suffering abuse. She met with them secretly to talk about their lives and listen to their stories.

“What happened to me was a real injustice. The court never considered the fact that I had been abused, beaten and raped because I had never made a formal report,” says Maritza.

Any time that she had thought about filing a report against Osvaldo, Maritza remembered what she had always heard about Cuban authorities’ lack of concern for such cases: “In Cuba, it almost always happens: if you go to the police about domestic abuse, they will say, ‘we don’t get involved between a husband and wife.’”

Maritza’s experiences have given her clarity: “we live in a country governed by men, and everything is run by men. The important positions are held by men and they are keeping us women down.”

Cubans call for a law

Cuba does not have a law addressing gender-based violence or violence against women, but a group of women activists has recently drafted and proposed such a measure. They submitted their draft to the National Assembly last November.

On January 10th of this year, the activists met with members of the National Assembly to inform them about gender inequalities in Cuba and the need for a law. The draft bill specifies new criminal offenses in order to guarantee access to justice for victims of gender-based violence, but mainly proposes a comprehensive plan to prevent such violence, assist victims and educate Cubans about the isssue.

The activists also proposed a timeline to approve this law, but no such law has been placed on the legislative calendar for the current session of the National Assembly (2020-2028).

International attention to violence against women in Cuba

In its final observations from its most recent review of Cuba, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) called upon the Cuban State to prioritize the fight to eliminate violence against women. The Committee also urged Cuba to prepare a national strategy for preventing violence against women, addressing victims’ needs and bringing perpetrators to justice. Cuba has not yet drawn up such a plan.

The Committee called attention to the particular vulnerability of Afro-Cuban women, rural women, elderly women and disabled women. The final observations urgedg the government to take the necessary measures to improve these groups’ access to basic needs such as sanitation, ensure that they are covered by social protection programs and promote their participation in public life.

The Federation of Cuban Women, a state-linked organization, has plans in place to defend women’s rights on the island. However, the Federation is responsive to the interests of the government above all, and without the involvement of independent civil society, its actions are misinformed and disconnected from the reality of Cuban women’s lives.

On International Women’s Day, Race and Equality Honors the Work of Women Human Rights Defenders

To mark March 8, International Women’s Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) wishes to highlight the fundamental role played by women human rights defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean. In a region where rates of sexual and gender-based violence against women are extremely high and multiple forms of discrimination are entrenched, women human rights defenders are key in the fight for the defense of women’s human rights. Likewise, they are at the vanguard of promoting and protecting the rights of others.

Although the vast majority of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),[1] women in the region continue to suffer inequalities that negatively impact their full enjoyment of human rights. According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), more than 3,800 women in 33 countries in the region were murdered because of their gender in 2019.[2] This violence stems from structural inequalities which profoundly affect all women, but especially women members of historically marginalized groups like Afro-descendants and the LGBTI community. For example, according to the Network of Afro-Latin American, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women, Afro-descendant women are victims of multiple forms of violence, which is often racialized. Likewise, the current discourse on gender ideology in the region, driven by in large part by conservative religious groups, has led to more discrimination against lesbian, bi-sexual, and trans women, as well as more hate crimes and murders. Finally, poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean, as in other regions in the world, has a feminine face, as women are less likely to have access to higher education and work outside of the home than their male counterparts. When women do work outside of the home, they are paid, on average, 17% less than men.[3] All of these factors make the work of women human rights defenders of utmost importance. But, they are also facing some grave challenges.

In Colombia, where the post-Peace Accord reality for human rights defenders is startlingly alarming due to the high rate of murders of defenders and impunity for those murders, women human rights defenders are among the most vulnerable. As the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recently documented, the number of women human rights defenders killed in Colombia in 2019 increased by 50% over the 2018 number.[4] Afro-descendant and rural women defenders are at generally greater risk, just as they suffer greater vulnerabilities in terms of overall enjoyment of their human rights.

In Cuba, independent women activists are facing an increase in repression and de facto house arrests, as well as reprisals and threats against themselves and their family members. Travel restrictions arbitrarily imposed by the Cuban government routinely prevent independent activists from participating in advocacy activities outside of the island and the application of these against women continues to grow. Furthermore, Cuban women are clamoring for an Integral Law against Gender Violence – a proposal which has been rejected by the National Assembly – and they continue to face difficulties in accessing decent, well-paying jobs.

In Nicaragua, the crisis that began in April 2018 has had a profound impact on women. Women human rights defenders, such as the Mothers of April, have played an important role in the opposition movement, as many have lost their children to the violence of the crisis. There has also been an overall increase in violence against women and femicides, as a result of the crisis. Furthermore, women in Nicaragua also face disproportionate economic consequences due to the crisis, as many have been left as heads of households, with male family members killed, imprisoned, or fired from their jobs because of their political ties.

In Brazil, the situation of violence against women is extremely concerning, especially against Afro-descendant and trans women. Our partners have documented that in the first two months of the year 38 trans women have been killed in the country.[5] This high level of violence makes the work of women human rights defenders – especially those working on behalf of diverse communities of women – all the more difficult and important.

Race and Equality calls on all Latin American and Caribbean States to honor the human rights commitments they have made under CEDAW and other applicable international human rights treaties, to respect and protect the rights of women. We likewise reiterate our support for women human rights defenders, especially those of our partner organizations and in the countries where we work, who so courageously and tirelessly fight to promote and defend the rights of women and others in the region on a daily basis. We thank you and assure you that you are not alone in your work towards a safer, more just, and equitable society for all.

[1] OHCHR. Status of Ratification Interactive Dashboard: CEDAW, https://indicators.ohchr.org/ (last accessed Mar. 4, 2020).

[2] ECLAC. Measuring femicide: challenges and efforts to bolster the process in Latin America and the Caribbean, Nov. 2019, available at: https://oig.cepal.org/sites/default/files/femicide_web.pdf.

[3] UN News. More women in Latin America are working, but gender gap persists, new UN figures show, Oct. 28, 2019, available at: https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/10/1050121.

[4] UN News. Colombia: ‘Staggering number’ of human rights defenders killed in 2019, Jan. 14, 2020, available at: https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/01/1055272.

[5] See www.antrabrasil.org.

Race and Equality Launches Campaign In Favor of Female Political Prisoners’ Rights in Cuba

On the eve of International Women’s Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) launches the campaign #CubanasLibresYA (“Cuban Women Free Now”), which seeks to illustrate the human rights situation of women in Cuba, in particular of those who serve arbitrary and unjust prison sentences at the hands of the Cuban State as a result of their political activism in favor of human rights on the island.

The campaign will run during the first half of the year and will seek to tell the stories of 10 female political prisoners of the Cuban State who are currently either serving their sentences across the prisons of Cuba, are victims of house arrest, or are recently released but served as political prisoners as a result of their activism.

“Although repression against human rights defenders, journalists, and other political activists is part of the reality of Cuba, its distinct impact on women is not discussed enough, despite the fact that the number of arbitrary detentions of women either matches or in some cases exceeds that of men,” stated Race and Equality’s Senior Legal Program Officer, Christina Fetterhoff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGAcD5sRyNE

Similarly, Fetterhoff explained that there are different levels of violence suffered by women in detention. There is a significant gap in terms of gender parity, equality, inclusion, and acknowledgement of rights, that impacts a woman’s social circle when she is detained. “The reality of Cuban women is very chilling; their full enjoyment of economic, social, and political rights is very limited, so when a woman head of household is imprisoned, not only does it have an obvious social impact, but also a disproportionate impact on the life of the family and the community that depends on that woman.”

The campaign also seeks to place on the public and international agenda the lack of information that exists on the state of female political prisoners and of the systematic rights violations carried out inside Cuban prisons. “We know from conversations with former political prisoners and with families of those still in prison that the conditions are inhumane. They lack access to female hygiene products, basic medical attention, and safe conditions to sleep. They also are impeded from making phone calls or having visits from family members on many occasions. There is no verified information about what goes on in prison with these women, as no international organization has been allowed access to monitor their conditions. Cases similar to that of Xiomara Cruz are very likely happening in Cuban prisons today,” said Fetterhoff.

The launch of the campaign #CubanasLibresYA on March 6 will commemorate International Women’s Day through posts on Race and Equality social media networks. The campaign will open with the story of Martha Sanchez one of the female political prisoners belonging to the Ladies in White.

Read here Martha´s story

Race and Equality invites you to amplify the message to bring to light the repression against human rights defenders who are specifically targeted for their political beliefs, and more specifically to showcase the human rights situation of women victims of male chauvinist standards that persist in the country.

Cuban Institute for Radio and Televsion censors same-sex kiss

On February 29, the Cuban TV program Pensando en 3D (Thinking in 3D) showed the film Love, Simon, which tells the story of a gay teenager who falls in love with a classmate. Over the course of the film, Simon learns to accept his sexual orientation and comes out as gay to his friends and family. Despite the film’s core message of acceptance, Pensando en 3D censored the climactic scene in which Simon, played by Nick Robinson, shares a kiss with Bram (Josh Duhamel).

Across social media, the Cuban LGBTI community expressed shock and indignation at this censorship. Activsts called for a public protest in front of the Cuban Institute for Radio and Television (ICRT, in Spanish), located in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, on Sunday, March 1st. The “kiss-in” protest aimed to reject this stigmatization of LGBTI love, call for an apology from the Institute and demand another showing of the film without censorship.

Yadiel Cepero, an activist from Matanzas province, led the charge for the kiss-in and told Race and Equality that debate about the censorship and the LGBTI community’s demands took place across Cuban social media. As March 1st approached, several activists received threats of harm if they attended the protest. Despite these threats, and knowing that Cuban State Security would seek to break up the protest, LGBTI activists set out to assemble in front of the Institute.

Jancel Moreno, who planned to report on the kiss-in for Cuba’s independent media, was intercepted by two officers on the road to Havana. According to Moreno, “two men calling themselves Lieutenants Alejandro and David told me to come with them. They held me in a building off the road between Matanzas and Bacunayagua bridge for several hours to prevent me from reaching Havana.”

Also on Sunday, the activist and artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who was also preparing to attend, posted on social media: “I am surrounded by political police trying to prevent me from going to the kiss-in outside ICRT, but I’ll see everyone there!” His partner, the activist Claudia Genlui Hidalgo, was struck by police officers as she tried to prevent them from detaining Luis Manuel.

The same day, the ICRT posted a statement on their website apologizing for the censorship:

“In response to this mistake, a review was conducted with the employees who edited the scene. The omission of the scene did not stem from any homophobic positions on the part of the ICRT or the leadership of Cuban Television, as some have implied on social media.”

TheICRT also decided to re-broadcast the film next Saturday, with the kiss scene included. Energy for the kiss-in dispersed after the apology, but some activists chose to persist, stating that the protest was about more than the particular scene.

As the protest grew closer, LGBTI activist and director of the independent outlet Tremenda Nota Maykel González Vivero received a threat from a social media user calling himself Elpidio Valdés. The message read, “let’s see if you can even make it out of your cheap house.”

González Vivero, another independent journalist, wrote on his Facebook page that the kiss-in had been cancelled due to the ICRT’s apology, but others stated that ICRT leadership should be pushed to disseminate the apology over the airwaves. Around twenty activists eventually assembled in Vedado, where State Security and police officers were already waiting. Local buildings had also been decoated with Cuban flags and posters with Revolutionary imagery.

Cuba’s LGBTI community remains outraged at the censorship, which is merely the latest incident of Cuban TV programming giving offense to LGBTI people and members of racial minorities. We call upon the Cuban state to respect its internatinoal commitments to cease discrimination against LGBTI people among public officials and to educate all Cubans about the human rights of LGBTI persons.

Who guarantees human rights in Cuba? Statement on Human Rights Day

As the international community marks Human Rights Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) laments the human rights crisis that continues to afflictthe Cuban people, particularly activists, human rights defenders and journalists. These independent actors suffer all manner of violence, harassment, repression and threats as a result of their efforts to defend and promote human rights.

Although Cuba has committed to protect and promote human rights by signing multiple international treaties, the government constantly attacks activists, rights defenders, artists and journalists, impeding their efforts to share the truth about life in Cuba and promote change. As Race and Equality has documented, Cuba’s Criminal Code contains numerous flaws and loopholes that allow the government to criminalize rights defenders and violate their freedoms of expression, association and the press, among others.

The situation of political prisoners in Cuba is also highly concerning. These prisoners suffer from deprivation of liberty as a result of their activism, legal proceedings without due process, and serious mistreatment while imprisoned. In particular, Race and Equality calls the international community’s attention to the case of José Daniel Ferrer, a leader of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba-UNPACU (Patriotic Union of Cuba) who has been imprisoned for over three months on false charges and who, according to testimonies in independent media, has been abused in prison.

We also wish to raise an alarm about the rise in harassment, arbitrary detentions, threats, police raids and de facto house arrestsof activists. According to the most recent report by the Cuban Human Rights Observatory, 218 arbitrary detentions took place in November alone, along with what the Observatory classified as “a defamation campaign by the government, meant to attackdissidents.” This repression falls particularly heavily upon female activists and journalists, who in recent months have reported constant abuse by Cuban police. Afro-Cuban activist Nancy Alfaya, journalist Luz Escobar and the Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) are only the highest-profile examples of violence and repression against women who challenge the status quo.

The Cuban government also uses the policy of “regulation” against activists, violating their right to freedom of circulation. The state uses travel restrictions known as “regulations” to forbid activists or journalists from leaving Cuba, especially when they seek to participate in international fora where they could expose human rights violations. These restrictions violate not only activists’ right to pursue human rights work, but also the rights of all people to free circulation, expression and opinion.

The tactic of de facto house arrests, in which police loiter near an activist’s home and forbid him or her from going outside, is also on the rise. This tactic prevents rights defenders from organizing or attending meetings and protests, silencing their voices and tamping down civil society. It has also violated the basic rights of victims by keeping them trapped inside for days at a time, preventing them from seeing doctors and completing other vital functions. In order to prevent independent action on Human Rights Day, Cuban State Security has warned several activists of severe consequences if they leave home today, without any explanation. One activist reported simply being told not to leave home “until further notice.”

This pattern of accelerating rights violations is especially severe for activists who oppose the politics or philosophy of the current government and who publicly denounce rights violations and other social issues in Cuba. These dissidents are targeted for violence by State Security forces, putting their lives and personal integrity in danger.

On Human Rights Day, Race and Equality insists that the Cuban State end its criminalization of human rights promotion and its repression of differing views. The State, as the guarantor of human rights, must act to prevent all forms of violence facing dissidents and rights defenders in Cuba. We also remind the Cuban government of its international commitments to recognize, respect, and promote human rights for all its people, without distinction or discrimination.

Race and Equality will continue to monitor the situation in Cuba, denounce rights violations, and promote human rights for all. We commit to ensuring that the work of activists and rights defenders is protected from repression and threats.

Government´s “regulation” policy again threatens Cuban´s right to freedom of circulation

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) condemns Cuban authorities’ prohibition of women’s rights activists to leave the country, as well as grave violations of their human rights.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) condemns Cuban authorities’ prohibition of women’s rights activists to leave the country, as well as grave violations of their human rights.

On December 5, several Cuban activists from various organizations were denied exit from the country by authorities. While some were explicitly informed that they were “regulated” – the term used by State Security to prohibit activists and independent journalists from leaving the country – others were sent to the Citizenship Office.

State Security went to the home of Madelyn Rodríguez Martin, a lawyer from the Consejería Jurídica e Instrucción Cívica (Legal Counseling and Civic Education), and threatened her. Captain Otoniel told her that he knew she was going to travel and that it was better not to go, that if she tried to leave her house they would detain her for 72 hours.

In the case of Irina León Valladares, an activist of the Movimiento Dignidad (Dignity Movement), Major Orestes Ayala of State Security showed up at her mother’s house, who suffers from hypertension, diabetes and other diseases, to warn her to tell Irina that she could not leave the country because she was regulated, and that they would only let her leave the country if she did not return. On December 6, Ms. León Valladares went to the Immigration Office, and there, was informed about the “regulation.”

Likewise, Neurelina Cardo Brizo, an activist from the Comité Ciudadanos por la Integración Racial–CIR (Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration), was notified at home that she was regulated. Major Alejandro went to her house and informed her that she was regulated and cited to appear at the police station on December 6 at 10 am. He did not tell her why she was being regulated.

Another activist arrived at the airport and was told that she was forbidden to leave the country. While trying to investigate the reasons behind the ban, she was informed that she should go to the Citizenship Office in Santiago de Cuba.

None of the activists were informed of the reasons for which they were regulated or the reasons why they had been prevented from leaving the country. These State Security actions are part of an increase, in the last two months, of prohibitions by the Cuban State so that human rights activists or journalists cannot leave the country – acts that violate Cubans’ right to free circulation.

Race and Equality calls on the Cuban State to cease harassment against human rights activists and their families, and reminds the State that the defense of human rights is not a criminal act, and as a right established in several of the treaties ratified by Cuba, must be guaranteed. Likewise, we remind the State that human rights defenders play an active role in the full development of egalitarian societies and the defense of the rights of all human beings. Several international bodies have highlighted their fundamental role and the need of the Cuban State to protect and guarantee their rights.

Nancy Alfaya has been targeted by the Cuban government for her work defending women’s rights

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) denounces a series of human rights violations suffered by the Afro-Cuban activist and human rights defender Nancy Alfaya. Nancy is part of the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration and coordinator of its partner organization Women’s Equality Network; a leader of the Writers and Artists’ Club of Cuba and the cultural group Puente a la Vista (Bridge to Perspective) and a co-founder of the internationally-recognized Damas de Blanco.

As a result of her activism fighting violence against women, Nancy has been targeted by the Cuban government. She and her husband recently returned to the country after spending 21 months living and studying in the U.S. Since her return, she has faced severe harassment and threats from the Cuban government and security forces. These abuses come in retaliation for her role in civil society organizations that seek respect for women’s rights on the island.

In recent weeks, Nancy has suffered constant harassment, threats and detentions at the hands of Cuba’s political police. On October 22, police officers waited outside the U.S. embassy to arrest Nancy and her husband as soon as they departed from an event. Nancy’s husband was released nearby, but Nancy was held arbitrarily for over 24 hours without being allowed to communicate with him.

“Upon arriving at the police station, they put me in a waiting room; when I told the police officer Alejandro, who had brought me to the station, that I needed to use the restroom, he accosted me harshly and yelled at me to sit back down. Two hours later, they brought me to the police station in La Regla, where they sat me in a hallway outside the cells. I was detained in a holding cell with only male prisoners for 25 hours. When they released me, they returned my confiscated cell phone, which was now broken,” testified Nancy.

Since her release, Nancy has not been able to leave her house without being closely tailed. “Jorge (Nancy’s husband) can go out without being surveilled or detained, but any time I try to leave the house, security agents appear and follow me,” says Nancy, who now is afraid to leave her home.

Nancy has been detained without any legal justification multiple times in the same week. At 1:30pm on November 21, she was detained outside her house by the same officer Alejandro. She was held for four hours and fined 150 pesos. At 9:30am the very next day, she was detained in the street as she made her way to a meeting at the U.S. embassy.

Nancy is currently on the Cuban government’s list of “regulated” individuals. Cuban authorities frequently use “regulation,” a policy allowing the government to restrict certain people’s free movement and travel, to prevent activists from leaving the county to participate in international fora where they could denounce human rights violations.

“I realized that I had been ‘regulated’ on November 7, 2018, when I tried to leave the country to participate in a women’s rights summit held by an organization in Peru. At the airport, they did not give me any explanation, but told me to go to the Immigration Office’s service department. There, they told me that I was under investigation and therefore could not leave the country,” Nancy told Race and Equality.

Nancy has also been threatened with prosecution for “social dangerousness” on several occasions:

“On August 13, I went to the National Office of Immigration (part of the Ministry of the Interior) to request that they clear up my legal situation, since I had been under this investigation for nine months. The officials there offered to negotiate about my situation, proposing that they would lift my ‘regulation’ if I cooperated with the government, which I refused. This had repercussions the next day, August 14, when State Security and National Revolutionary Police officers surrounded a poetry event that we were holding at the Citizens’ Committee for Racial Integration office. Alejandro detained me when I tried to enter the office and threated to charge me with ‘social dangerousness’ for not having a job or a small business “cuentapropista” license.”

We are highly concerned for Nancy Alfaya’s safety in light of the constant rights violations and threats that she is experiencing, and we demand that the Cuban government act to guarantee her fundamental rights. Efforts to defend and promote human rights, which are protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the other treaties to which Cuba is a party, must never be criminalized. As the Inter-American Human Rights Commission has stated, “the defense of human rights can only be freely exercised when defenders are not subjected to threats or any type of physical, psychological, or moral aggression or other forms of harassment.”[1] Human rights defenders play a fundamental role in society, as the IACHR recognized in the case of Honduran activist Berta Cáceres: “rights defenders bring forth denunciations of violations, victims’ claims and community demands that contribute to the flourishing of the rule of law and democracy.”[2]

Race and Equality is committed to continuing our work supporting the efforts of Cuban activists to protect and promote the human rights enshrined the Universal Declaration. In recent years, Cuba has sought to criminalize human rights defenders by prosecuting them under criminal laws, taking advantage of vague statues in the Penal Code or continuing to apply laws that are known to violate civil and political rights.[3] The Cuban Observatory on Human Rights recorded at least 2,525 arbitrary detentions in 2018, in which at least 1,700 were of women.[4] In 2019, we have observed an increase in arbitrary detention and harassment by state security agents against human rights defenders, activists, journalists, and other figures in independent civil society.[5]

Women who work to defend human rights have been the most impacted by this new wave of repression. In September 2019, 14 people were placed under ‘regulation,’ of which 8 were women.[6] In an interview with the independent outlet Diario de Cuba, the activist Sara Cuba Delgado stated that “we are the most vulnerable actors, as you can see when looking at the issue of detentions.”[7] Women activists are prevented from leaving the country, live under threats of violence and are smeared as “bad mothers” for defending human rights and refusing to fit into the traditional roles for women in society.

[1] IACHR, Towards Effective Integral Protection Policies for Human Rights Defenders (2017), OEA/Ser.L/V/II, paragraph 13. Available at OAS.org.

[2] IACHR, Resolution 8/216, Precautionary Measures # 112/16, Members of COPINH and relatives of Berta Cáceres. 5 March 2016 (translated from original Spanish). IACHR, Resolution 46/2015, Precautionary Measures # 589/15, Members of the Better Life Association, 22 January 2014, paragraph 12. IACHR, Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders (2015), OEA/Ser.L/V/II, Doc. 49/15, paragraph 227. Available at OAS.org.

[3] IACHR, Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders (2015), paragraph 3. IACHR, Towards Effective Integral Protection Policies for Human Rights Defenders (2017), paragraph 89.

[4] Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos. 2018: Detenciones arbitraries. Available at ObservaCuba.org [Spanish].

[5] Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos, Gobierno de Díaz-Canel casi duplica las detenciones arbitrarias en septiembre (2019). Available at: ObservaCuba.org [Spanish]. Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos, Aumentaron detenciones arbitrarias y actos represivos en Cuba en julio, denuncia el Observatorio Cubano de Derechos Humanos (2019). Available at: ObservaCuba.org [Spanish].

[6] Cubanet, “Esperaba que me recibieran así,” (2019). Available at: CubaNet.org [Spanish].

[7] Diario de Cuba, Doble violencia y cero amparo gubernamental: activistas cubanas por los derechos de la mujer (2019). Available at: DiarioDeCuba.com [Spanish].

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