III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 224 

Recognizing the 5th anniversary of the death of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as, 

and commemorating his legacy and commitment to democratic values 

and principles. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 19, 2017 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. NELSON, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. 

CRUZ, and Mr. MERKLEY) submitted the following resolution; which was 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the 5th anniversary of the death of Oswaldo 

Paya ́ Sardin ̃as, and commemorating his legacy and commitment to democratic values and principles. 

Whereas Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as was born in Havana, Cuba, 

in 1952 and became a nonviolent critic of the communist 

government as a teenager, resulting in 3 years of imprisonment in 1969 at a work camp in Cuba, formerly known 

as ‘‘Isla de Pinos’’; 

Whereas, in 1987, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as founded the Christian Liberation Movement that called for peaceful civil 

disobedience against the rule of the Communist Party of 

Cuba and advocated for civil liberties; 


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•SRES 224 IS 

Whereas, in 1992 and 1997, attempts by Oswaldo Paya ́

Sardin ̃as to run as a candidate for the National Assembly 

of People’s Power were rejected by Cuban authorities; 

Whereas, in 1998, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as and other leaders 

of the Christian Liberation Movement established the 

Varela Project in order to circulate a legal proposal to 

advocate for democratic political reforms within Cuba, including the establishment of freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, free elections, freedom to start private businesses, and amnesty for political 

prisoners; 

Whereas, in 2002, the Varela Project delivered a petition to 

the National Assembly of People’s Power with 11,020 

signatures from Cuban citizens calling for a referendum 

on safeguarding basic freedoms, an end to one-party rule, 

and citing Article 88 of the Constitution of Cuba that allows Cuban citizens to propose laws if the proposal is 

made by at least 10,000 Cuban citizens who are eligible 

to vote; 

Whereas, in 2003, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as redelivered the petition to the National Assembly of People’s Power with 

an additional 14,384 signatures, establishing the biggest 

nonviolent campaign to oppose the Communist Party of 

Cuba; 

Whereas, in March 2003, the crackdown on Cuban dissidents 

by the Government of Cuba, referred to as the ‘‘Black 

Spring’’, led to the imprisonment of 75 individuals, including 25 members of the Varela Project and 40 members of the Christian Liberation Movement, and the formation of the Ladies in White movement by the wives of 

the imprisoned activists; 


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•SRES 224 IS 

Whereas, in 2007, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as called on the National Assembly of People’s Power to grant amnesty to 

nonviolent political prisoners and to allow Cubans to 

travel freely without a government permit; 

Whereas, in 2009, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as developed a Call 

for the National Dialogue; 

Whereas petitions and calls by Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as to the 

National Assembly of People’s Power were repeatedly dismissed and disparaged by the Government of Cuba; 

Whereas Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as, his family, and friends endured years of harassment and intimidation for the 

peaceful political activism of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as; 

Whereas Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as has been formally recognized in the past for his dedication to the promotion of 

human rights and democracy, including by receiving the 

Homo Homini Award in 1999, the Sakharov Prize for 

Freedom of Thought in 2002, the W. Averell Harriman 

Democracy Award from the United States National 

Democratic Institute for International Affairs in 2003, 

and being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Va ́clav 

Havel, the former President of the Czech Republic, in 

2005; 

Whereas, on July 22, 2012, Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as and 

Harold Cepero, a fellow pro-democracy activist, died in a 

troubling car crash in Granma Province, Cuba, after 

being followed by government agents; 

Whereas the Government of Cuba has failed to conduct a 

credible investigation into the car crash that led to the 

death of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as; 

Whereas the trial and conviction of A ́ngel Carromero, a youth 

leader of the People’s Party who was visiting Cuba and 


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•SRES 224 IS 

driving the car at the time of the crash, did not include 

testimony from key witnesses, and did not resolve questions about whether another car was involved or whether 

Mr. Carromero was coerced by the Government of Cuba 

into signing a false statement of guilt; 

Whereas, in 2012, the United States Senate unanimously 

passed Senate Resolution 525, 112th Congress, agreed to 

July 24, 2012, honoring the life and legacy of Oswaldo 

Paya ́ Sardin ̃as; 

Whereas, in 2013, a number of United States Senators and 

the United States Department of State called for an impartial, third-party investigation by the Inter-American 

Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of 

American States into the circumstances surrounding the 

death of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as; 

Whereas, in 2013, A ́ngel Carromero spoke in detail during an 

interview with the Washington Post about being hit by 

another car during the crash, being mistreated and coerced by Cuban authorities following the crash, and being 

made the ‘‘scapegoat’’ by the Government of Cuba for 

the death of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as; 

Whereas the dissidents of the ‘‘Black Spring’’ have been released from prison, but many political prisoners remain 

imprisoned in Cuba despite trials that failed to meet 

international due process standards; and 

Whereas the 2016 Human Rights Report on Cuba by the 

United States Department of State cited ongoing human 

rights abuses by the Government of Cuba, namely ‘‘the 

abridgement of the ability of citizens to choose their government; the use of government threats, physical assault, 

intimidation, and violent government-organized counter 


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protests against peaceful dissent; and harassment and detentions to prevent free expression and peaceful assembly.’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes and commemorates the legacy of 

3 Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as on the 5th anniversary of 

4 his death on July 22, 2017; 

5 (2) honors the commitment of Oswaldo Paya ́

6 Sardin ̃as to democratic values and principles; 

7 (3) calls on the Government of Cuba to allow 

8 an impartial, third-party investigation into the cir9 cumstances surrounding the death of Oswaldo Paya ́

10 Sardin ̃as; 

11 (4) urges the United States to continue to sup12 port policies and programs that promote respect for 

13 human rights and democratic principles in Cuba in 

14 a manner that is consistent with the aspirations of 

15 the Cuban people; 

16 (5) urges the Inter-American Commission on 

17 Human Rights of the Organization of American 

18 States to continue reporting on human rights issues 

19 in Cuba, and to request a visit to Cuba in order to 

20 investigate the circumstances surrounding the death 

21 of Oswaldo Paya ́ Sardin ̃as; and 

22 (6) calls on the Government of Cuba to cease 

23 violating human rights and to begin providing demoVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:09 Jul 20, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR224.IS SR224

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1 cratic political freedoms to Cuban citizens, including 

2 freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom 

3 of the press, free elections, freedom to start private 

4 businesses, and amnesty for political prisoners. 

Æ 


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