Latin America, the European Union and Cuba: Approaches towards Totalitarianism

This document seeks to study the UPR corresponding to the Cuban regime, which took place during the fourth working session of the UPR Working Group, in the period February 2nd-13th 2009, and its corresponding context. The focus is comparative between two regions of the world: Latin American governments and European governments. The relevance of these two regions to the subject of human rights in Cuba is due to historical reasons. On one hand, Cuba is a Latin American country, and all its neighbors are signatories to the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Governments from that region frequently self-proclaim their roles as protectors and promoters of human rights, and the issue has a greater sensitivity in countries that endured dictatorships in recent decades. Additionally, Latin America has historically been the main stage for the Cuban government’s actions, both in terms of propaganda and official relations and of anti-democratic subversion. Furthermore, it is in that region where, even under democratic systems of government, there remains a significant amount of sympathizers of the regime. When comparing European countries with this important portion of the Americas, it can be clearly ascertained that the former is far more critical towards the Cuban regime. Chile, on the other hand, is the only one of these countries to present a more critical exposition. Its intervention included phrases such as: “(…) we believe an effective independence of procedures and in judicial administration, a duly narrowed martial law, an adequate protection for human rights defenders as well as political opponents, an effective guarantee of liberty of expression and the respect for the liberty to move within and out of Cuba will be important in achieving an enjoyment of human rights, whatever their nature.”

Pablo Brum is Associated Researcher of the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL). He holds a BA on International Studies at Universidad ORT, Uruguay. Among his publications at CADAL are “An Evaluation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights”; and “Rogue States: A Timely Concept and Its Application to Latin America”.

Mariana Dambolena is Associated Researcher of the Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL). She holds a BA on International Studies at Universidad ORT, Uruguay. Among her publications at CADAL are: “Mayoría de países latinoamericanos condenan a Israel en la ONU”; and “Una dictadura da cátedra en el Consejo de Derechos Humanos”.