H. Res. 179
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
April 8, 2003.
Whereas the Cuban Government continues to repress all
peaceful attempts by the Cuban people to bring demo-
cratic change to the island by denying universally recog-
nized liberties, including freedom of speech, assembly, as-
sociation, movement and of the press;
Whereas on March 9, 2003, many of Cuba’s prominent dis-
sidents issued a statement titled ‘‘Joint Statement’’ to
the European Union, wherein they reaffirmed their view
of the Cuban Government’s ‘‘total vocation to immobility
and its refusal to respect internationally recognized
human rights or accept the existence of legitimate polit-
ical opposition’’ and further stated that ‘‘in recent times
the Cuban Government has intensified its political and
social repression’’;
Whereas commencing on March 17, 2003, the Cuban Govern-
ment carried out a massive, island wide crackdown on
members of Cuba’s pro-democracy movement, which in-
cluded the arrest of over 80 dissidents, among them
many who signed the ‘‘Joint Statement’’, activists of the
Assembly to Promote Civil Society, promoters of the
Varela Project, independent journalists, and numerous
members of Cuba’s nascent independent civil society;
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Whereas the Cuban Government arbitrarily searched the
homes and confiscated personal items belonging to pro-
democracy activists;
Whereas independent journalists were among those incarcer-
ated in this massive crackdown, including Raul Rivero,
known as the dean of the dissident independent journal-
ists in Cuba;
Whereas independent librarians, who make their homes avail-
able so that the Cuban population may have access to
publications otherwise censored by the Cuban Govern-
ment, also became victims of repression, as many were
arrested, their homes ransacked and searched, and publi-
cations and other belongings confiscated;
Whereas Marta Beatriz Roque, and other leaders of the ‘‘As-
sembly to Promote Civil Society’’, an islandwide move-
ment seeking to coordinate the various sectors of Cuba’s
nascent independent civil society who work for a demo-
cratic transition, were incarcerated and face lengthy sen-
tences, including life sentences;
Whereas activists who have collected or signed petitions for
the Varela Project were also incarcerated in this crack-
down and may also face life sentences;
Whereas more than 80 pro-democracy leaders who work for
a peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba have been in-
carcerated and sentenced under ‘‘Law 88’’ and ‘‘Law
91’’, two draconian totalitarian laws that call for long
sentences of 10, 15, or 20 years, or life imprisonment, or
even death for pro-democracy activity;
Whereas there is concern for the well-being and safety for all
of Cuba’s political prisoners, particularly Juan Carlos
Gonzalez Leyva, who is a blind human rights activist in-
•HRES 179 EH
carcerated since March of 2002 without being formally
charged, and Leonardo Bruzon Avila, who has been de-
nied medical attention according to Amnesty Inter-
national, despite the effects of a prolonged hunger strike
while in prison.;
Whereas a plea for solidarity was made from within the noto-
riously harsh prison in Cuba known as ‘‘Combinado del
Este’’ and signed by 21 political prisoners, among them
Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, Francisco Chaviano, Rafael
Ibarra, and Jorge Luis Garcia Perez ‘‘Antunez’’ to the
member states of the 59th Session of the United Nations
Human Rights Commission;
Whereas the Cuban Government has carried out ‘‘summary
trials’’ to expeditiously sentence pro-democracy leaders to
try to intimidate and silence other pro-democracy activ-
ists on the island, while world attention is primarily fo-
cused on Iraq;
Whereas the Castro regime has engaged in mass arrests of
dissidents while the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights, of which Cuba is a member, is meeting
in Geneva;
Whereas certain member countries of the Latin American
and Caribbean group (GRULAC) at the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights are currently drafting a
resolution on the violations of human rights by the
Cuban Government;
Whereas the Cuban Government has repeatedly violated the
rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the Inter-American Convention on Human
Rights, and other international and regional human
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rights agreements, and has violated the mandates issued
by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights;
Whereas foreign diplomats and members of the international
press have been barred by the Cuban Government from
being present at the ‘‘summary trials’’; and
Whereas pro-democracy leaders on the island have come to-
gether to call for the immediate release of all Cuban po-
litical prisoners, and are requesting international soli-
darity with the internal opposition, as reflected in a
March 31, 2003, statement signed by some of the most
prominent dissidents on the island: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) condemns the brutal crackdown of the Cuban
Government on the island’s peaceful pro-democracy
movement;
(2) calls for the immediate release of all Cuban po-
litical prisoners;
(3) supports the right of the Cuban people to exer-
cise fundamental political and civil liberties, including
freedom of expression, assembly, association, movement,
press, and the right to multiparty elections;
(4) calls on the United States Permanent Rep-
resentative to the United Nations and other Inter-
national Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, to work
with the member countries of the United Nations Com-
mission on Human Rights to ensure a resolution that in-
cludes the strongest possible condemnation of the cur-
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rent crackdown of dissidents and of the gross human
rights violations committed by the Cuban Government;
and
(5) calls on the Latin American and Caribbean
group (GRULAC) at the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights to exclude Cuba from its slate of can-
didates for the United Nations Commission on Human
Rights and urges all member nations to oppose renewing
Cuba’s membership on the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights until the Government of Cuba adheres
to international human rights standards, such as those
delineated in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights.
Attest:
Clerk.