The United Nations and human rights do not belong in the same
sentence. Last Wednesday the UN Human Rights Council praised
Cuba’s human rights achievements. The Council was far more
concerned about the U.S. embargo against Cuba than the Cuban
government’s brutality towards its own people.
The UN long has claimed to represent the greatest aspirations of
humanity, running back to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, which was approved more than six decades ago. But the
UN’s Commission on Human Rights routinely embarrassed the
“international community.” Often dominated by human rights
abusers, the body routinely whitewashed oppressive governments
and spent much of its time attacking Israel. It was one of Turtle
Bay’s finest comedy clubs — only the performances were
underwritten by U.S. taxpayers.
Three years ago the Commission was replaced by the Human Rights
Council in a vain attempt to improve operations. The Bush
administration refused to dignify the body with America’s
presence, but in March the Obama administration announced its
decision to return. Doing so obviously was a mistake.
The membership list reads like a Who’s Who of repressive regimes:
Angola, Egypt, Gabon, China, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan,
Russia, and Cuba. Many of the other members have lesser human
rights problems. Authoritarian states have an obvious incentive
to go easy on their fellow autocracies. Even worse, these member
governments view violating human rights as a positive
good and one of the chief responsibilities of government (in
their hands, at least).
As part of its commitment to human rights, the Council conducts
an annual review — which culminates in a three hour
debate on the nation’s human rights record. Strangely, these
reviews seem a bit, shall we say, superficial?
Cuba’s record isn’t hard to assess. The State Department
helpfully summarizes the Cuban record in its annual human rights
report:
The government continued to deny its citizens their basic human
rights and committed numerous, serious abuses. The government
denied citizens the right to change their government. At year’s
end there were at least 205 political prisoners and detainees.
As many as 5,000 citizens served sentences for “dangerousness,”
without being charged with any specific crime. The following
human rights problems were reported: beatings and abuse of
detainees and prisoners, including human rights activists,
carried out with impunity; harsh and life-threatening prison
conditions, including denial of medical care; harassment,
beatings, and threats against political opponents by
government-recruited mobs, police, and State Security
officials; arbitrary arrest and detention of human rights
advocates and members of independent professional
organizations; denial of fair trial; and interference with
privacy, including pervasive monitoring of private
communications.
The group Freedom House ranks Cuba at the bottom in both
political rights and civil liberties. “Although the degree of
repression has ebbed and flowed over the past decade, the
neutralization of organized political dissent remains a regime
priority,” explains Freedom House.
Freedom House compiles a special report on freedom of the press
and, not surprisingly, ranks Cuba as “not free” in this category
as well. There was some relaxation of repression last year, but
“Cuba continued to have the most restrictive laws on free speech
and press freedom in the hemisphere.” Moreover, “state security
agents continued to threaten, arrest, detain, imprison, and
restrict the right of movement of local and foreign journalists
throughout the year.”
Cuba also is one of the worst violators of religious liberty.
Last year, explained the State Department in its annual
International Religious Freedom Report: “The government continued
to exert control over all aspects of social life, including
religious expression. Certain groups, particularly Seventh-day
Adventists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, faced significant harassment
and maltreatment.” Although repression had eased of late, “The
Ministry of the Interior continued to engage in efforts to
control and monitor religious activities and to use surveillance,
infiltration, and harassment against religious groups, religious
professional, and laypersons.” Last month the United States
Commission on International Religious Freedom placed Cuba on its
Watch List since “Within this reporting period, the government
expanded its efforts to silence critics of its religious freedom
policies and crack down on religious leaders whose churches
operate outside of the government-recognized umbrella
organizations for Protestant denominations.”
There are worse offenders, of course. Compare any country against
Burma or North Korea and even the worse human rights offender
looks pretty good. But Cuba’s record could not survive the most
cursory review by a serious body. Unfortunately, the Human Rights
Council is not a serious body.
The UN issued an official press release summarizing the debate,
if it can be called that, on Cuba and two other states (Saudi
Arabia and Cameroon):
In the discussion on Cuba, speakers said Cuba had withstood
many tests, and continued to uphold the principles of
objectivity, impartiality and independence in pursuance of the
realization of human rights. Cuba was and remained a good
example of the respect for human rights, including economic,
social and cultural rights. The Universal Periodic Review of
Cuba clearly reflected the progress made by Cuba and the Cuban
people in the protection and promotion of human rights, and
showed the constructive and responsive answer of Cuba to the
situation of human rights. Cuba was the victim of an unjust
embargo, but despite this obstacle, it was very active in the
field of human rights. The trade, financial and economic
blockade by the United States should be brought to an end, as
it was the primary obstacle to the full development of Cuba.
In short, the problem is not the brutality of the Castros’
regime. It is the American trade embargo — counterproductive in
my view, but ignored by everyone else and actually used by the
Cuban government to enhance its control. As my Cato Institute
colleague Juan Carlos Hidalgo put it, “This is not from The
Onion, but the UN.”
However, the Council summary does not do the debate justice.
Pakistan wished Cuba well in realizing “all human rights for all
citizens.” Venezuela (you don’t have to be a member to comment)
lauded “the iron will” of Cuba’s government. Russia said, “Cuba
had taken a serious and responsible approach.” Uzbekistan
“stressed Cuba’s work in the promotion of human rights.” China
declared that “Cuba had made important contributions to the
international human rights cause.” Egypt opined that “Cuba’s
efforts were commendable.” And so it went.
Again, this is not from the pages of The Onion. It is
from a debate before the Human Rights Council.
Needless to say, the Cuban government was pleased. The Cuban
Interests Section (which acts as Havana’s de facto embassy) put
out a press release headlined: “Cuba recognized in the Human
Rights Council.” Havana grandly announced that it was accepting
most of the Council’s recommendations, and “reaffirmed its
commitment to the strengthening of international cooperation on
human rights issues and to the UN Human Rights Council, which
must be based on the principles of universality, objectivity,
impartiality and non-selectiveness.”
Is there some way, in theory, in which the Human Rights Council
might help advance the cause of human rights? Perhaps, but it
certainly is not apparent how that might be. The official “Report
of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review” of Cuba
was as stomach-churning as the ensuing debate. Rather than
advancing the cause of human liberty, the Council is providing
cover for the oppressors and persecutors. Like the Castro
Brothers & Co.
After receiving its UN whitewash, the Cuban government exclaimed:
“The exemplary achievements of the Cuban Revolution in relation
to human rights have been acknowledged once again by the
international community. It has not been possible to silence the
truth.”
Rather than going back into the Council, the U.S. and other
serious states should make a quick exit. The problem is not Cuba.
It is the UN. Saudi Arabia, too, received gentle treatment. Up
the next day were Azerbaijan and China — the latter of which
praised the records of Cuba, Saudi Arabia, and Cameroon. This
incestuous process will continue, day after day, at the expense
of the rest of us.
Human rights. United Nations. Never shall the twain meet, except
in a tiresome comedy routine in an expensive club operating out
of a famed high-rise in New York’s Turtle Bay.
