Title: A resolution expressing solidarity with the San Isidro Movement in Cuba, condemning escalated attacks against artistic freedoms in Cuba, and calling for the repeal of laws that violate freedom of expression and the immediate release of arbitrarily detained artists, journalists, and activists.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution expresses the Senate's stance in solidarity with the members of the San Isidro Movement, an organization of artists, activists, academics, and journalists protesting increased censorship and persecution in Cuba. Further, it calls on Cuba to release arbitrarily imprisoned artists and journalists, repeal laws that violate freedom of expression, and engage with activists seeking to advance freedom of expression in Cuba.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 37 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 37

Expressing solidarity with the San Isidro Movement in Cuba, condemning 
 escalated attacks against artistic freedoms in Cuba, and calling for 
the repeal of laws that violate freedom of expression and the immediate 
  release of arbitrarily detained artists, journalists, and activists.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 8, 2021

   Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Cardin) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing solidarity with the San Isidro Movement in Cuba, condemning 
 escalated attacks against artistic freedoms in Cuba, and calling for 
the repeal of laws that violate freedom of expression and the immediate 
  release of arbitrarily detained artists, journalists, and activists.

Whereas artists, journalists, and activists in Cuba have faced increased 
        censorship, persecution, and arbitrary detention by the Government of 
        Cuba as a result of Decrees 349 and 370, which seek to restrict artistic 
        freedoms and silence independent media in Cuba;
Whereas, in December 2018, Decree 349 entered into force, requiring that artists 
        and those who hire them receive prior approval from the Government of 
        Cuba to operate in public or private spaces or otherwise be subject to 
        confiscation of materials, fines, or sanctions without the right to an 
        appeal;
Whereas, in July 2019, Decree 370 entered into force, regulating and imposing 
        sanctions with respect to the free distribution of information through 
        the internet and leading to increased repression, arbitrary detentions, 
        and censorship by the Government of Cuba;
Whereas international human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty 
        International, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for 
        Human Rights, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, have 
        condemned Decrees 349 and 370 as violating fundamental freedoms and 
        contradicting Article 54 of the 2019 Constitution of Cuba, which 
        guarantees freedom of expression;
Whereas, in 2018, the San Isidro Movement (MSI), an organization of artists, 
        activists, academics, and journalists, began to peacefully protest 
        increased censorship and persecution in Cuba;
Whereas Denis Solis Gonzalez, a musician and member of the San Isidro Movement, 
        was detained on November 9, 2020, and sentenced to 8 months in prison on 
        ``contempt of authority'' charges after sharing a live video online of a 
        police officer entering his home without a warrant;
Whereas, on November 19, 2020, artists and activists from the San Isidro 
        Movement launched a day of poetry and gathered at a private residence to 
        discuss actions to protest the arbitrary detention of Denis Solis 
        Gonzalez, and during that peaceful activity, state police blocked access 
        to the house, confiscating all food and humanitarian supplies;
Whereas, in response to the events of November 19, 2020, 17 independent artists 
        and activists went on a 7-day hunger strike at the private residence, 
        during which state authorities allegedly contaminated water sources in 
        order to sicken the artists and activists;
Whereas, on November 26, 2020, state security agents forcibly entered the 
        protest site to remove the 17 artists and activists, blocking internet 
        connectivity and communications throughout Cuba during the raid;
Whereas, on November 27, 2020, approximately 300 people gathered outside the 
        Ministry of Culture of Cuba to peacefully protest the lack of artistic 
        freedom in Cuba and the arbitrary arrest of Denis Solis Gonzalez and 
        other artists and activists in an unprecedented demonstration against 
        the Government of Cuba, and, despite the use of tear gas by state 
        security forces, the protesters were undeterred;
Whereas, as a result of the protest on November 27, 2020, Cuban officials met 
        with 30 artists and activists, including 5 leaders of the San Isidro 
        Movement, and agreed to stop harassment of Cuban artists and initiate a 
        dialogue between the San Isidro Movement, other activists, and the 
        government;
Whereas, despite that commitment by Cuban officials, the Government of Cuba 
        subsequently escalated its attacks against the artists and activists who 
        participated in the meeting, including by surrounding and blocking 
        access to their homes;
Whereas the Cuban regime used state-controlled media to label the acts of 
        peaceful protest by the San Isidro Movement as treason, which, according 
        to Article 4 of the 2019 Constitution of Cuba, is a crime subject to 
        imprisonment and penalty of death;
Whereas, on December 4, 2020, the Government of Cuba unilaterally ended the 
        dialogue process with Cuban artists and independent civil society and 
        political activists;
Whereas, on January 27, 2021, officials of the Ministry of Culture, led by 
        Minister Alpidio Alonso and Vice Ministers Fernando Rojas and Fernando 
        Leon Jacomino, physically assaulted a group of 20 to 30 artists who had 
        gathered outside the Ministry of Culture to restart a dialogue process 
        with authorities and demand an end to the repression of the artistic 
        community;
Whereas, following the assault on the group by Minister Alonso and Vice 
        Ministers Rojas and Jacomino, Cuban state security forces violently 
        detained protesters; and
Whereas, despite the suspension of the dialogue process by the Government of 
        Cuba, artists, activists, and independent journalists continue to 
        bravely advocate for fundamental freedoms and denounce human rights 
        violations in Cuba: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) stands in solidarity with the members of the San Isidro 
        Movement and their efforts to advance freedom of expression in 
        Cuba;
            (2) calls on Cuban authorities to engage in a meaningful 
        dialogue process with the members of the San Isidro Movement 
        and other artists and activists seeking to advance freedom of 
        expression in Cuba;
            (3) calls on the Government of Cuba to immediately release 
        Denis Solis Gonzalez and other arbitrarily imprisoned artists 
        and journalists;
            (4) urges the officials of the Ministry of Culture of Cuba 
        to refrain from physical violence and any other acts of 
        repression against Cuban artists and journalists;
            (5) calls for the immediate repeal of Decrees 349 and 370 
        and other laws in Cuba that violate freedom of expression;
            (6) urges democratic governments and legislatures in Europe 
        and Latin America to renew their support for democratic 
        activists in Cuba and speak out against the repression of 
        artists and journalists in Cuba; and
            (7) encourages the Secretary of State to condemn the 
        persecution, threats, and intimidation of Cuban artists and 
        journalists.
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