“The continued arbitrary detention of Luis Manuel and Maykel is part of a pattern of repression based on imprisoning at all cost those who disagree with the authorities. These detentions are intended to have a chilling effect on activism and to silence freedom of expression in Cuba,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“These convictions are a sign of the cruelty that President Díaz-Canel’s government is willing to inflict on anyone who criticizes the Cuban authorities. The authorities must stop using the criminal justice system to repress the population and take the necessary measures to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and the Attorney General’s Office.”

Maykel Castillo Pérez, known as “Osorbo”, is a musician and human rights activist. He is co-writer of the song “Patria y vida”, which criticizes the Cuban government and has been adopted as a protest anthem. He was detained at his home on 18 May 2021 by security officials and has been in prison ever since.

The continued arbitrary detention of Luis Manuel and Maykel is part of a pattern of repression based on imprisoning at all cost those who disagree with the authorities.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara is a member of the artistic collective Movimiento San Isidro, which has opposed a law that censors artists. He was arrested on 11 July 2021 in Havana after announcing in a video that he would join the protests that same day, along with thousands of others who demonstrated peacefully and spontaneously in dozens of cities to demand a change in living conditions in Cuba.

During the protests, thousands of people criticized the shortage of food and medicine, the inadequate electricity system and the restrictive measures taken in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Authorities responded with a wave of widespread repression across the country. During the protests and in the following weeks, hundreds of people were arbitrarily and violently detained; many of them were charged and prosecuted for various crimes. According to the organization Justice 11J, as of 7 June 2023, 773 people detained during the 2021 protests were still deprived of their liberty.

In 2021, Amnesty International documented the details and context of the detention of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel “Osorbo” Castillo Pérez and named both artists prisoners of conscience, as they have been deprived of their liberty solely for peacefully exercising their human rights.

Both artists were charged with the crimes of “contempt” and “public disorder”, crimes that the Cuban government commonly uses to criminalize activists and political opponents. The definitions of these crimes in the Criminal Code are ambiguous and they are used arbitrarily to justify imprisoning people for acts that should not be considered crimes, such as criticizing or insulting an authority. The new Cuban Penal Code, which came into force in December 2022, not only kept these provisions in force, but increased the minimum penalties applicable for these crimes. 

In addition, Luis Manuel was accused of “insulting national symbols” and Maykel of “defaming institutions, organizations, heroes and martyrs”. Both are crimes that unduly restrict the right to freedom of expression guaranteed in international human rights law.

Amnesty International has also criticized the Cuban courts’ lack of genuine independence, particularly in politically motivated cases where they display undeniable deference to the Attorney General’s Office and where convictions of political dissidents are virtually guaranteed.

Judicial authorities systematically conduct these trials in closed sessions, without public access. A family member of the accused may attend, but no human rights defenders, journalists or diplomatic representatives are admitted. Amnesty International has repeatedly requested access to various trials of activists or political dissidents, without receiving a response from the authorities.

Among the actions of Luis Manuel and Maykel that the court considered criminal are the posting of texts and images of political protest on social media, such as a meme referring to the authorities, photographs on the beach with the Cuban flag, participating in demonstrations and singing a protest song in the street.

These convictions are a sign of the cruelty that President Díaz-Canel’s government is willing to inflict on anyone who criticizes the Cuban authorities.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

In this and other cases documented by Amnesty International, the courts take into consideration inconsequential aspects of the life of the accused that should have no relevance in criminal matters. For example, the court has used as evidence their jobs or trades, relationships with other people and their participation in guild associations linked to the government. In the case of these two prisoners of conscience, the court noted that Luis Manuel Otero “met with antisocial elements with low moral standards” and that Maykel Castillo “met with antisocial elements”.

Amnesty International considers that the criminal proceedings and the sentences in which they culminated were a farce, devoid of any respect for the minimum guarantees of a fair trial. The sentences must be quashed and those affected immediately and unconditionally released. The government must also ensure that neither they, nor their families or associates, suffer repression for asking for justice in these cases.

The post Cuba: Authorities must release prisoners of conscience wrongly convicted a year ago appeared first on Amnesty International.

“The region cannot continue down the path of repressing protests, militarizing borders and public security, environmental destruction and failing to protect historically marginalized communities, such as Indigenous peoples and human rights defenders,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. “The heads of state in the Americas must change course and seek solutions to create a freer and safer continent, with full respect for the human rights of all.”

Amnesty International’s concerns include the excessive use of force to suppress social protests, seen in several countries in the region and most recently in Peru. States in the Americas must ensure that individuals can exercise their right to peaceful protest and that any use of force by the security forces when policing demonstrations is necessary, legitimate and strictly proportionate. The organization also calls on states to end arbitrary detentions, unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, which are frequently committed in much of the region.

Another issue that must be urgently addressed by states in the region is that of human mobility and the need for international protection, specifically in the case of people fleeing human rights crises in countries such as Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. It is alarming how restrictive and even inhumane migration policies, such as those of the USA, Mexico, Peru and Chile, have endangered people in need of international protection, rather than seeking cooperation to address the humanitarian crisis at various borders across the continent.

The region cannot continue down the path of repressing protests, militarizing borders and public security, environmental destruction and failing to protect historically marginalized communities, such as Indigenous peoples and human rights defenders 

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Amnesty International also believes that states must find alternatives to address public security crises other than militarization, which has become the norm in several countries in the region. The use of the armed forces for public security tasks has been intensified in countries such as Mexico and Ecuador, which has created contexts that facilitate grave human rights violations without addressing the root causes of criminal violence.

States must take urgent action to protect human rights defenders; the Americas remains the most dangerous region for human rights defenders. According to Front Line Defenders, Colombia was the world’s deadliest country for defenders in 2022, with at least 186 killings, followed by Mexico (45), Brazil (26) and Honduras (17).

The climate crisis is another danger that threatens the region. Although the impacts of climate change on rural and historically marginalized communities are becoming increasingly clear, states’ efforts have been insufficient and have failed to address dependence on fossil fuels, the main factor behind the crisis.

Similarly, states have not done enough to guarantee the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Over the past year, Amnesty International has documented cases of killings of Indigenous leaders in countries including Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico in the context of land-related conflicts. Meanwhile, several states have proceeded with or granted concessions to national and multinational companies to implement extractive, agricultural and infrastructure projects without the free, prior and informed consent of the affected Indigenous peoples.

Violence and discrimination against women, girls and LGBTI people is another historical problem that urgently needs a concerted response. States in the region continue to fail to adequately address the very high levels of gender-based violence, including feminicides, and several states have taken measures that endanger people’s sexual and reproductive rights.

Finally, the General Assembly is due to elect four people to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Faced with the withdrawal of nominations from four countries, Amnesty International urges states in the Americas to elect people with the highest credentials, in line with the principles of suitability, impartiality, independence and recognized competence in the field of human rights, and to ensure that nominations and the withdrawal of nominations is firmly based on the inter-American legal framework.

The post Americas: OAS states must address the closure of civic space in the region appeared first on Amnesty International.

“The development of autonomy in weapons is accelerating, and the growing application of new Artificial Intelligence and machine learning technologies is a deeply worrying development. These machines risk automating killing, treating it as a technical undertaking which raises human rights risks as well as humanitarian, legal and ethical concerns. Autonomous machines will make life and death decisions without empathy or compassion.

The development of autonomy in weapons is accelerating, and the growing application of new Artificial Intelligence and machine learning technologies is a deeply worrying development.

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International

“Autonomous weapon systems lack the ability to analyse the intentions behind people’s actions. They cannot make complex decisions about distinction and proportionality, determine the necessity of an attack, refuse an illegal order, or potentially recognize an attempt to surrender, which are vital for compliance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

“These new weapons technologies are at risk of further endangering civilians and civilian infrastructure in conflict. Amnesty International remains concerned about the potential human rights risks that increasing autonomy in policing and security equipment poses too, such as systems which use data and algorithms to predict crime.

“It has never been more urgent to draw legal red lines around the production and use of autonomous weapons systems to ensure we maintain meaningful human control over the use of force.

“Amnesty International supports the call made by governments from Latin American and Caribbean countries today for binding international legal controls on these weapons and welcomes the decision to work in alternative forums, beyond the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) where talks have stalled, to advance this new law.”

Background

The Regional Conference on the Social and Humanitarian Impact of Autonomous Weapons in San José, Costa Rica is the first of its kind and involved regional and observer governments, representatives of the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and civil society. Amnesty International is a founding member of Stop Killer Robots, a global coalition of more than 160 organizations working to address autonomy in weapons systems.

The post More than 30 countries call for international legal controls on killer robots appeared first on Amnesty International.

“Over many decades, the Cuban authorities have consistently used the criminal law — or the threat of it — to silence dissent. The new Criminal Code contains a suite of chilling provisions that give the authorities even greater powers to continue smothering freedom of expression and assembly in 2023 and beyond,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

Over many decades, the Cuban authorities have consistently used criminal law — or the threat of it — to silence dissent. The new Criminal Code contains a suite of chilling provisions that give the authorities even greater powers to continue smothering freedom of expression and assembly in 2023 and beyond

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International

Cuba’s new 141-page Penal Code replaces the previous one, which dates back to 1987, and contains a number of new and old provisions that are concerning for human rights. It takes effect at a time when many hundreds remain in prison for protesting in July 2021, and after waves of protests in October this year were also repressed.

Here are five alarming aspects of the new Penal Code:

1. Many provisions of the criminal code that have been used to silence and imprison activists for decades remain

Following the crackdown on protests in July 2021, Amnesty International named six prisoners of conscience — just a few emblematic cases that represent only a tiny fraction of the total number of people who likely deserve the designation. Three of those prisoners of conscience remain imprisoned, while the others, according to the information available to Amnesty International, were forced into exile by the authorities.

All of Amnesty International’s prisoners of conscience, and many hundreds of others criminalized in the context of protests, were charged under several provisions of the Penal Code that have historically been used to silence dissent. These include “public disorder,” “resistance,” and “contempt.” For example, the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was convicted of “public disorder”, “contempt” and “insulting national symbols.” The leader of Cuba’s unofficial political opposition group, José Daniel Ferrer García, who has frequently been held with limited access to the outside world since his detention in July 2021, was charged with “public disorder.”

All these provisions remain in the new Criminal Code, with some changes to the wording, but with increased minimal penalties. For example, “contempt”, “public disorder”, and “resistance” now carry minimum penalties of six months in prison to a year and/or a fine, compared with a minimum of three months to a year in prison and/or a fine under the previous penal code. Similarly, “insulting national symbols”, which includes defiling or other acts that show contempt for the flag or national anthem, now includes a penalty of imprisonment for two to five years or a large fine or both, compared with a penalty of three months to a year or a fine under the previous criminal code.

In a context where the judiciary continues to be neither independent nor impartial and allows criminal proceedings to be brought against those critical of the government as a mechanism to prevent, deter or punish them from expressing such views, this could result in human rights activists or critical actors being imprisoned for even longer periods of time. 

Additionally, Amnesty International believes that public officials should tolerate more criticism than private individuals. The use of criminal defamation laws with the purpose or effect of inhibiting legitimate criticism of government or public officials violates the right to freedom of expression. Amnesty International also opposes laws prohibiting insult or disrespect of heads of state or public figures, the military or other public institutions or flags or symbols (such as lèse-majesté and desacato laws). Amnesty International opposes laws criminalizing defamation, whether of public figures or private individuals, which should be treated as a matter for civil litigation.

2. The new Penal Code penalizes anyone who “endangers the constitutional order and the normal functioning” of the government

Article 120.1 of the new law allows anyone who “endangers the constitutional order and normal functioning of the State and the Cuban government” to be punished with imprisoned from four to 10 years. 

According to international human rights law, the right to freedom of expression can only be restricted in very limited circumstances. Any restrictions must meet all elements of a strict three-part test: they must be provided by law, necessary and proportionate for the purpose of protecting national security, public order, or public health or morals, or the rights or reputations of others. Additionally, to prevent abusive impositions of restrictions, there must be an effective appeal process in place to an independent body, or judicial review. Vaguely worded provisions, such as “endangering the constitutional order” and “normal functioning of the State and the Cuban government” are incompatible with international standards and laws on the right to freedom of expression.

3. It criminalizes receipt of funding, further stifling independent journalists and activists 

Article 143 of the new criminal code stands to further stifle the ability of civil society organizations, activists, and independent journalists to operate in the country, by prohibiting any receipt or use of finances that are deemed to “fund activities against the Cuban state and its constitutional order.” Anyone found guilty of being in possession of funds deemed to be used in this way faces a punishment of four to 10 years in prison.

Under international human rights law, the criminalization of human rights defenders based on receiving foreign funding is prohibited. Such restrictions on foreign funding are contrary to the right of association as they constitute an impediment for human rights defenders to perform their duties, as funding is an essential tool for the existence and effective operation of any association.

This new provision is already creating a chilling effect on independent journalists, who according to the NGO Article 19, have been pressured to resign ahead of the new penal code coming into effect.

4. It severely limits freedom of expression online

For the first time, Cuba’s new penal code explicitly allows the authorities to severely limit freedom of expression on social media and creates a range of vaguely worded offences related to “telecommunications, information and communication technologies” which in a context where freedom of expression has historically been squashed by the authorities, risk being abused.

Additionally, under the new law (Article 391.1) anyone who knowingly shares “fake information” (hechos falsos) can face six months to two years in prison or a fine, or both, and is subject to higher penalties, among other things, if the information is shared on social media or in online or offline media. Similarly, anyone who intentionally “offends another person in their honor”, either in writing or drawing or through acts or gestures, can also face six months to a year in prison or a fine, or both. This offence is also considered aggravated if the information is shared on social media.

According to international human rights law, vague and overly broadly worded laws, for example, which prohibit spreading “fake information”, or which penalize a person for offending someone’s “honor”, do not meet the three-part test described above and are incompatible with the right to freedom of expression. 

5. The new penal code retains the death penalty for 23 different crimes

As most countries in the world move towards abolition of the death penalty, Cuba’s new penal code moves against that trend by retaining the death penalty for severe crimes. 

The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception — regardless of who is accused, the nature or circumstances of the crime, guilt or innocence, or method of execution.

“As we approach the end of 2022, hundreds of Cubans remain in prison for peacefully expressing their beliefs, protest continues to be repressed, and we are seeing one of the biggest waves of forced migration out of Cuba in recent history, as people seek to build new lives with greater freedom overseas,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas. “We will be watching the authorities carefully in 2023 and calling on the international community to condemn in the strongest terms abuses of the criminal law to silence dissent.”

As we approach the end of 2022, hundreds of Cubans remain in prison for peacefully expressing their beliefs, protest continues to be repressed, and we are seeing one of the biggest waves of forced migration out of Cuba in recent history, as people seek to build new lives with greater freedom overseas

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International

Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara was convicted of “public disorder”, “contempt” and “insulting national symbols”. Amnesty International continues to campaign for Luis Manuel’s release and to defend the rights of many others who have been criminalized for being critical of the Cuban authorities.

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Carlos Mendoza: press@amensty.org 

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“Haitians fleeing their country amidst a humanitarian and human rights crisis should be welcomed and have the right to seek safety in the USA without discrimination. They must not be held in a third country or a US navy base infamous for unlawful and indefinite arbitrary detention and torture.”

“Amnesty International has demonstrated that successive US governments have tried to deter Haitian people from claiming asylum in the United States through the application of policies designed to intercept, detain, and remove them, starting in the 1970s and continuing with Title 42. Their tactics have included unlawful pushbacks at sea, mass detention, torture or other ill-treatment, and expedited removal proceedings with deficiencies in individualized screenings. In the 1990s, for instance, US authorities shamefully detained Haitian asylum seekers in poor conditions in camps in Guantánamo Bay.”

Haitians fleeing their country amidst a humanitarian and human rights crisis should be welcomed and have the right to seek safety in the USA without discrimination

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

“It is time for the United States to put a stop once and for all to this discriminatory treatment and make sure that Haitian asylum seekers have access to US territory and due process without discrimination to exercise their rights to seek asylum, including individualized assessments of their international protection claims. The ongoing operations at the Guantánamo Bay naval base are already marred with horrendous human rights violations, and Amnesty International has long called for the detention facility to be shuttered for good. The United States must refrain from using this site to commit more abuses.”

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“Within days of the Interagency Coordination for Refugees and Migrants R4V revealing that there are 7.1 million Venezuelans seeking international protection, the Biden administration shamefully announced a new plan to block access to asylum for Venezuelans seeking safety at the US border. While we acknowledge the important step taken by the Biden administration in the creation of a new parole program for 24,000 Venezuelans, we are greatly alarmed at the expansion of the application of Title 42. This new policy aimed at stopping Venezuelans from seeking safety at the border is again demonstrating that Title 42 has no basis in public health and runs contrary to US and international obligations to uphold the rights of all to seek safety. All people have a right to seek safety, regardless of familial or financial ties, and any parole program should not supplant the right to seek asylum.

“We are also concerned with media reports that the Title 42 expansion is due to also include nationals of Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua. Last month, Amnesty International released a groundbreaking report finding that Haitians expelled under Title 42 were subject to arbitrary detention and discriminatory and humiliating ill-treatment that amounts to race-based torture. We urge the Biden administration to reconsider this and to instead work diligently to put an end to Title 42, not to expand it. Eradicating this deadly policy is a critical first step towards restoring asylum and preserving the human rights of asylum seekers; anything else is a band-aid that is not solving the issues at hand.” 

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“In the latest wave of protests that have lasted several days, Cubans are exercising their simple but historically repressed rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Alarmingly, it seems the authorities are repeating the tactics of repression they used last year to detain and silence protesters, hundreds of whom remain in prison,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“The international community must condemn the cycles of repression we are seeing in Cuba in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable for authorities to keep intimidating, threatening, detaining, stigmatizing, and attempting to silence anyone who demands necessities like electricity, food, and freedom.”

Since the start of protests in late September, Amnesty International has received reports of on-going internet interference, deployment of police and military, including cadets, to repress the protests, and arbitrary detentions.

Starting on the evening of 29 September, the Cuban authorities appear to have intentionally shut down internet access throughout the country. The internet outage lasted for at least two consecutive nights.

Cuban authorities control the country’s only telecommunication network and have often restricted internet access during politically sensitive times or moments of protests.

Alarmingly, it seems the authorities are repeating the tactics of repression they used last year to detain and silence protesters, hundreds of whom remain in prison.

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Amnesty International has heard that the latest internet outages have made it hard for families to communicate following the passage of hurricane Ian, at a time when many people have had their homes damaged. They have also impacted the ability of independent human rights observers, including Amnesty International, and independent journalists to document the human rights situation in the country. Journalist Luz Escobar told Amnesty International that her internet was cut three nights in a row, impacting her ability to work, and that as of 4 October, several other journalists working at her independent online newspaper, 14 y medio, were without internet.

Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab has also analysed several videos that did not appear online before these protests. One video which Amnesty International analysed was filmed on Street 41, at the corner of 66 in Havana, Cuba, and appears to show the deployment of plain-clothed military cadets, armed with baseball bats, chanting pro-government slogans, including “I am Fidel.”

Another video, which also first appeared online in the context of the protests, and which is consistent with other videos Amnesty International has verified from the protests, appears to also show cadets with baseball bats chasing and then detaining protesters.

The Cuban authorities have developed a sophisticated machinery for controlling any form of dissent and protest, as previously documented by Amnesty International. While state security officials often carry out surveillance and arbitrary detentions of critics, the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (local members of the Communist Party who collaborate with state officials and law enforcement agencies) also provide the state with information about, what is considered,  “counter-revolutionary activity.” “Acts of repudiation” – demonstrations led by government supporters with the alleged participation of state security officials – are also commonplace and aimed at harassing and intimidating government critics.

While communication with Cuba remains stunted due to internet interference, Justicia J11, a group established following the crackdown on protesters in July 2021 – has reported 26 detentions since 30 September, mostly of young people and artists, 19 of whom they reported remained in detention as of 4 October 2022.

Cuban authorities criminalized nearly all those who participated in the protests in July 2021, including some children, but flatly denied any human rights violations, and placed the blame for the economic situation almost exclusively on the US economic embargo. Similarly, on 2 October 2022, President Díaz-Canel downplayed the widespread nature of the latest protests and suggested that a minority of “counter-revolutionaries” with connections outside Cuba, had carried out “acts of vandalism such as blocking roads or throwing rocks” and would be dealt with with the “force of the law.”

Background

Following the passage of hurricane Ian, the electricity has been cut in multiple parts of the island, adding to the frequent electricity outages in recent months. NASA night-time light data showed a significant decrease in lights between 23 September, before the passing of Ian, and after, on 30 September.

Electricity outages have exacerbated violations of economic and social rights in the country, as in recent months Cubans have had to line up for many hours to buy food and other necessities, in the context of widespread food shortages.

The recent protests have occurred just 14 months after the similar widespread protests on 11 July 2021, which were followed by a crackdown on dissent. Hundreds remain imprisoned for the 11 July protests, including three prisoners of conscience: artists Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel Castillo Pérez, as well as leader of the non-official opposition, José Daniel Ferrer García. Other prisoners of conscience named by Amnesty International at the time were released on the condition of going into exile.

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1. The protests were a desperate cry for change in the country.

On July 11, 2021, thousands of Cubans spontaneously took to the streets in dozens of cities to protest, in numbers not seen in decades. People participated in the protests to demand a change in living conditions in Cuba. The protests responded not only to the shortages of food, personal hygiene items and medicine, the constant blackouts and lack of electricity, but also to the restrictive measures taken by the government to “control” Covid-19 transmission, and to the state’s historic policy of repression, which has violated freedom of expression and peaceful assembly for years.

2. Despite the demonstrations being peaceful, the authorities responded with repression and criminalization, in varying degrees, against almost everyone they encountered protesting.

During the protests, and in the weeks following them, the authorities arbitrarily detained hundreds of people without informing their families of their whereabouts, kept activists and independent journalists under extreme surveillance, and cut off the population’s internet access.

3. Cuban authorities repressed the protests using well-worn tactics of control.

One of the main tactics the authorities employed to repress the protests, and silence people who think differently, was the use of arbitrary detentions. The situation of artist and human rights defender Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, one of six people named prisoner of conscience last year, is emblematic of how these tactics are employed, as he was detained after announcing that he would join the protests and, almost a year later, was sentenced to five years in prison just for exercising his right to freedom of expression.

These tactics to silence criticism of the government are not new, but rather reflect decades of repressive policies implemented by Cuban authorities. In addition to arbitrary detentions, other tactics include the interruption of internet service, violations of due process, ill-treatment, and unfair trials held behind closed doors. The Cuban authorities also resort to constant intimidation and surveillance using security agents for these purposes, as we documented in November 2021, in the context of the November 27 protests. Their attempts to silence diverse voices go so far as to exchange freedom for exile, as happened to Esteban Rodriguez and Hamlet Lavastida, who Amnesty International also named prisoners of conscience.

4. The Cuban government erroneously maintains that its actions are legitimate.

Despite using crimes inconsistent with international law (such as “public disorder”, “contempt”, and “instigation to commit a crime”) to criminalize those who protested, Cuban authorities insist that the manner in which they repressed the protests was appropriate. President Miguel Díaz-Canel himself called on the “defenders of the regime” to violently combat the people who had joined the demonstrations in the streets, because, according to the official version of events, the protests undermined “the constitutional order and the stability” of the socialist state. However, the facts speak for themselves: currently at least 701 people are known to remain deprived of their freedom, just for expressing their dissatisfaction with the situation in the country.

5. The international community continues to denounce the worrying lack of freedom of expression in Cuba.

However, despite vigorous efforts by governments and international organizations, the Cuban government refuses to allow international and independent human rights organizations into the country to document the state of human rights, and especially the situation faced by those arbitrarily detained. 

While conditions inside Cuba have not improved a year on from the protests, stories have come to light that illustrate the courageous resistance of hundreds of activists, journalists, relatives of unjustifiably detained protesters, and people from all walks of life who have united their voices to continue fighting for their rights. Mothers of the victims have created viral videos demanding authorities to act to solve the deep economic crisis facing the country. Relatives have stood firm in the face of arbitrary arrests, threats and fines. Journalists and activists have left their homes to continue fulfilling their role of defending and protecting rights.

This 11 July anniversary reminds us that freedom of expression and the exercise of human rights could be a reality in Cuba. We reiterate our invitation to President Díaz-Canel and his cabinet to change repression for dialogue, and to promote plural and participatory spaces where the Cuban people can make decisions about the future of their country collectively, making the protection of human rights a priority.  

Until that future arrives, Amnesty International will not stop defending those who raise their voices to build it.

The post Five things you should know a year on from Cuba’s 11 July protests appeared first on Amnesty International.

“Both Luis Manuel and Maykel are artists who have used art as a means of expressing their views on the social, political and economic conditions in Cuba. They are two emblematic examples of how Miguel Díaz-Canel’s government uses the judicial system to criminalize critical voices, including through charges of alleged crimes that are incompatible with international law. The international community must continue to publicly condemn these practices, which openly undermine the full exercise of human rights in the country.”  

“Despite demands from various actors within the international community, the trials of Luis Manuel and Maykel, which should never have taken place, were conducted behind closed doors and under heavy police control, according to reports from activists. Amnesty International also received information from activists and journalists, denouncing the presence of security agents in the vicinity of their homes, to prevent them from going outside the court where the trials were held”.  

They are two emblematic examples of how Miguel Díaz-Canel’s government uses the judicial system to criminalize critical voices, including through charges of alleged crimes that are incompatible with international law

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

“The trials of Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and Maykel ‘Osorbo’ Castillo are a shameful example of the human rights crisis caused by the Cuban government’s decades-long policy of repression.  Amnesty International condemns the criminalization of these prisoners of conscience, who are being held solely for exercising their rights.”  

“We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Luis Manuel Otero, Maykel ‘Osorbo’ Castillo and all those imprisoned for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and defending rights in Cuba.” 

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The Cuban government should immediately and unconditionally release Maykel Castillo Pérez and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, artists who are set to stand trial starting on May 30, 2022, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. Concerned governments, especially from Latin America and Europe, should monitor the trial and call for the artists’ release.

Otero Alcántara, a visual artist, and Castillo Pérez, a rap singer who is also known by his artistic name “Osorbo,” have been in pre-trial detention for nearly a year. A prosecutor has requested that they be sentenced to seven and ten years in prison, respectively, on a range of charges related to their participation in a peaceful demonstration and an artistic performance, and their criticism of President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

“Maykel Castillo Pérez and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara are being prosecuted for exercising their human right to criticize their own government,” said Tamara Taraciuk Broner, acting Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “Latin American governments should not stay silent when artists are threatened with prison for speaking out, the extreme intolerance typical of brutal dictatorships in the region’s past.”

“Governments in the Americas and Europe should closely monitor the trial against these prisoners of conscience in Cuba, who should never have spent a day in prison,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International. “In a country where more than 700 people, including some children under 18, are imprisoned for simply expressing themselves, it is of utmost importance that these trials be subject to international scrutiny.”

Otero Alcántara, a member of the San Isidro Movement, formed to critique government censorship, was detained on July 11, 2021, after posting a video saying he would join island-wide peaceful protests that day. More than 700 people arrested during the demonstration remain in detention, according to the Cuban rights group Cubalex. Castillo Pérez, one of the authors of “Motherland and Life” (“Patria y Vida”), a song critical of the Cuban government that was adopted as a popular protest anthem, was detained by state security officials on May 18, 2021.

Maykel Castillo Pérez and Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara are being prosecuted for exercising their human right to criticize their own government

Tamara Taraciuk Broner, acting Americas director at Human Rights Watch

Castillo Pérez, who has experienced multiple short-term arbitrary detentions, was arrested at his home. His family did not know where he was until May 31, when Cuban authorities informed them that he was being held in the Pinar del Río prison, where he remains in detention. The family was only notified a few days after the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances had urged the Cuban government to reveal Castillo Pérez’s place of detention.

In January 2022, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Castillo Pérez had been arbitrarily detained and said that the Cuban government should release him immediately. The UN experts found that Castillo Pérez had been detained for exercising his fundamental rights and had suffered due process violations, including abusive limitations to his right to defend himself. The experts found credible evidence that, prior to his latest detention, Castillo Pérez had been arrested more than 120 times for participating in protests and criticizing the Cuban government.

In February, a prosecutor in Havana requested that Castillo Pérez be sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crimes of “public disorder,” “defamation of national institutions, organizations, heroes and martyrs of the nation,” “contempt,” and “assault.” A court document Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reviewed indicates that some charges are connected to memes Castillo Pérez published on Facebook criticizing President Díaz-Canel and other Cuban authorities. Other charges are connected to an April 4, 2021 peaceful protest in Havana, during which a police officer tried to arrest Castillo Pérez and a group of local residents defended him, preventing the detention.

Otero Alcántara, whom Amnesty International has named prisoner of conscience several times during multiple arbitrary arrests, is being held at the Guanajay maximum security prison in Artemisa province.

The same court document indicates that the prosecutor is seeking a combined sentence of seven years for Otero Alcántara. He is being charged with “insulting national symbols” for his use of the Cuban flag in the performance piece Drapeau, in which he either wore the Cuban flag or carried it around with him 24 hours a day for a month

The prosecutor also charged him with “public disorder” and “contempt” for gathering with Castillo Pérez and other people during the April 4 protest, playing “Motherland and Life” in public and saying “offensive words” against former president Raúl Castro.

Governments in the Americas and Europe should closely monitor the trial against these prisoners of conscience in Cuba, who should never have spent a day in prison

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty Internationa

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have learned that Cuban authorities have repeatedly offered to release Castillo Pérez and Otero Alcántara in exchange for them leaving the country indefinitely— a historic practice by the Cuban government that has been applied to other critics in recent months, in violation of the right to enter one’s own country. Otero Alcántara has publicly rejected the offer. Cuban authorities have seemingly backtracked from their offer to Castillo Pérez.

Nobody should be forced to choose between leaving their own country or facing abusive criminal charges for which they should not be prosecuted or imprisoned in the first place, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said.

The prosecution against Otero Alcántara and Castillo Pérez is part of a much broader pattern of systematic abuses against Cuban artists and other government critics and protesters. In recent years, Cuban authorities have jailed, prosecuted, and forced into exile dozens of Cuban artists, including from the “San Isidro Movement” and “27N,” which gather artists, intellectuals, and journalists who are critical of the government.

Cuban authorities have also engaged in arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of detainees, and held unfair mass trials, mostly behind closed doors, in response to overwhelmingly peaceful anti-government protests in July 2021. Dozens of protesters have been sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, in trials in which prosecutors have frequently charged them with vaguely defined crimes, such as “public disorder” and “sedition.”

Cuban authorities should drop charges designed to silence dissent against all protesters and critics, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said. To the extent that the trials proceed, authorities should allow journalists, human rights observers, and staff of foreign embassies in Cuba to be present at the trials, including at the one against Otero Alcántara and Castill, the organizations said.

For more Human Rights Watch reporting in Cuba, please visit: https://www.hrw.org/americas/cuba

For more Amnesty International reporting in Cuba, please visit: https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/central-america-and-the-caribbean/cuba/

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• The region has accounted for 28% of all COVID-19 deaths in the world, despite having only 8.4% of the global population.
• Since the start of the pandemic, the number of people living in poverty remains 14 million higher compared to 2019.
• Since the start of the pandemic, the number of people living in extreme poverty in LAC has risen by 16 million.
• LAC was the region that experienced the most drastic drop in employment in 2020. Women, young people and people working in the informal sector have been the most impacted.
• Almost 60% of the children who missed an entire school year in the world were in LAC.
• 44 million people became food insecure, of which 21 million became severely food insecure.

COVID-19 Exacerbated by Inequality

• LAC continues to be the world’s most unequal region. In 2019, the richest 20% of the population held almost half of total income, while the poorest 20% held less than 5% of total income.
• The richest 1% in the region holds almost one quarter of total income.
• There is a link between higher levels of income inequality and the impact of the pandemic in terms of lives lost. The most unequal countries in the region (such as Peru, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay) had very high numbers of COVID-19 deaths per million people.
• In 2019, 30% of homes in the region were considered overcrowded. 50% of homes of people living in poverty were overcrowded.
• Less than a third of vulnerable households have access to a computer at home.

Social Protection Responses and Health during COVID-19

• In 2019, only 47.2% of employed persons were affiliated or contributed to pension systems. One in four people aged 65 or over did not receive a pension.
• In most LAC countries, emergency social protection measures adopted covered less than two thirds of the population.
• A total of 64 cash transfer programs were implemented in 24 of 33 countries. However, more than half of the interventions directly benefited less than 10% of the population, and consisted of additional amounts of less than a minimum monthly wage.
• In LAC, 30% of people do not have access to free public health care, due to the lack of health insurance coverage.
• Not one country in the LAC region expanded health insurance or enabled emergency insurance during the pandemic.
• Except from Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay, no other country in the region spends 6% of their GDP in public health, the minimum amount to secure universal healthcare established by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
• Due to the lack of effective access to free and public health, millions of families cover their health expenditures from their savings. Out-of-pocket expenses represent 28% of the total health spending in the region

Taxation and Inequality in LAC

• LAC countries collect less taxes as a percentage of GDP compared to countries with a similar level of development. On average, the region only collects 22% of GDP in taxes, compared to 33% for OECD countries
• In LAC, collection depends heavily on indirect taxes, such as consumption taxes, which disproportionately affect women and other groups who are overrepresented among the poor.
• In 2019, countries in the region collected, on average, 46% of their total tax revenues from indirect taxes, compared to only one third from direct taxes.
• Tax evasion in LAC has led to hundreds of billions of dollars of lost public revenue each year. In 2018, LAC lost approximately US$350 billion, 6.1% of GDP the region’s GDP. This amount would be sufficient to cover the minimum resources to secure universal health in the region.
• LAC countries are estimated to lose annually US$40.1 billion to corporate tax abuse. It is estimated that with the income that has been lost over the last 10 years, the region could have guaranteed access to drinking water to 492,632 people or have prevented the death of 42,281 children.

The post Unequal and Lethal: Facts and Figures appeared first on Amnesty International.

Governments across Latin America and the Caribbean must urgently ramp up spending on the right to social protection and health in order to tackle the region’s obscene socio-economic inequality that has proven fatal during the Covid pandemic, said Amnesty International and the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) in a new joint report released today.

Unequal and Lethal: Five key actions to recover from the human rights crisis unleashed by the pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean explains the factors behind the region’s disproportionate death toll from Covid compared to other parts of the world. With only 8.4% of the world’s population, the region has endured 28% of total global deaths due to COVID-19. The report finds that those countries with the highest inequality and lowest public spending on health and social protection suffered most during the pandemic, with the most devasting impacts on historically marginalized groups.

A human rights-based rethink of economic policies is key to avoiding future calamities in what is, by many measures, the world’s most unequal region. Despite the staggering inequality and poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean, over the last decades governments have failed to collect sufficient tax revenues and to do so in a way that combats inequality, even during times of economic boom. This has inevitably resulted in meagre spending on healthcare services and social protection – including unemployment, pensions and childcare support – which are vital for a life of dignity and to truly uphold human rights for all.  

“Governments have the obligation to proactively mobilize the resources needed to protect their populations from the worst impacts of discrimination, disease and economic disaster. If Latin American countries had done this in the decades before the pandemic, the region could have avoided so much pain and loss of life,” said Kate Donald, Acting Executive Director of CESR. “Now is their chance to prevent the next inequality-induced disaster and make the shift towards a rights-based economy.”

Countries such as Mexico, Brazil and Peru, where the richest 1% of the population hoards over 30% of national wealth, have recorded the highest numbers of Covid deaths in the region proportional to their populations. Chile, where the richest 20% of the population takes home 10 times more income than the poorest 20%, also has one of the region’s highest death rates per capita.

Governments have the obligation to proactively mobilize the resources needed to protect their populations from the worst impacts of discrimination, disease and economic disaster

Kate Donald, Acting Executive Director of CESR

While many Latin American countries provided cash transfers during the pandemic, none of them expanded health insurance nor took sufficient action to implement universal social security mechanisms and expand coverage to ensure the most disadvantaged people were covered.

The impact of these shortcomings across the region fell most severely on women, who lost jobs at a higher rate than men and whose disproportionate role in caring for children and family continues to affect their unequal enjoyment of rights – even more so if they are Indigenous or of African descent.

“Being born with a certain skin colour or growing up in a certain postcode should not determine your chances of dying of infectious diseases like Covid. Two years into the pandemic, governments in Latin America have still not caught on to the urgency of implementing a human rights-based approach to recovering from the pandemic and tackling inequality,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

“Promoting equality does not mean treating everyone in the same way. Latin America’s present situation is the result of hundreds of years of colonial injustices that mean certain groups have been historically and systematically denied their rights. As countries recover from the pandemic governments need to address this head on by adopting a substantive equality approach and affirmative action measures.”

Although the Pan American Health Organization calls for a minimum of 6% of GDP to be spent on health in order to ensure universal coverage, nearly all the countries in the region spend far less on public health services, which means that they do not have enough hospital beds, doctors or nurses to effectively deal with Covid-19 or other health crises. In Peru, for example, in the decade prior to the pandemic, authorities failed to increase public spending on health despite years of sustained economic growth, only investing 3.3% of its GDP. Meanwhile in Mexico, over 15 million people lost access to health coverage in the two years before the pandemic, due to bureaucratic inefficiencies in government health policies.

In Chile, taxes and social security contributions only account for half of spending on healthcare, with the other half coming from patients through mandatory prepayment fees and voluntary and out-of-pocket expenses. Chile’s per capita public spending on health represents just a third of the OECD average, and it has half as many hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants as the OECD average.

“Being born with a certain skin colour or growing up in a certain postcode should not determine your chances of dying of infectious diseases like Covid

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International

Even when they have adequate policies in theory, governments stumble on implementation, with a key barrier often being the failure to generate sufficient fiscal resources to make them effective. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean generally collect less revenue from taxes than others with similar levels of development in different parts of the world. In 2019, the region only collected on average 22% of its GDP in taxes, compared to 33% for OECD countries.

Moreover, many have regressive taxation systems with taxes that do not ask enough from those most able to pay, thus undermining their resources to overcome inequality and redistribute wealth. For example, Latin American countries depend heavily on indirect taxes – which are more regressive as they represent a larger burden for poorer sections of the population – and collect very little from wealth taxes which target economic elites.

“Without boldly facing the need to tax more and tax better – as is their human rights obligation – countries in Latin America will continue to be dragged down by a malaise of socio-economic inequality, favouring a rich elite while harming society as a whole,” said Kate Donald.

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