Amnesty International: Repression of Cuban dissidents persists despite releases

16 March 2011

The Cuban authorities are continuing to stifle freedom of expression on the island in spite of the much-publicized recent wave of releases of prominent dissidents, Amnesty International warned ahead of the eighth anniversary of a crackdown on activists.

Hundreds of pro-democracy activists have suffered harassment, intimidation and arbitrary arrest in recent weeks as the Cuban government employs new tactics to stamp out dissent.

Of 75 activists arrested in a crackdown around 18 March 2003, only three remain in jail after 50 releases since last June, with most of the freed activists currently exiled in Spain. Amnesty International has called for the remaining prisoners to be released immediately and unconditionally.

"The release of those detained in the 2003 crackdown is a hugely positive step but it tells only one side of the story facing Cuban human rights activists," said Gerardo Ducos, Cuba researcher at Amnesty International.

"Those living on the island are still being targeted for their work, especially through short-term detentions, while repressive laws give the Cuban authorities a free rein to punish anyone who criticizes them.”

"Meanwhile, three of the prisoners detained eight years ago still languish in prison and must be freed immediately."

In one recent crackdown the authorities detained over one hundred people in one day in a pre-emptive strike designed to stop activists marking the death of activist Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who died following a prolonged hunger strike while in detention.

On 23 February, the one-year anniversary of Tamayo's death, according to the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation, the authorities placed over 50 people under house arrest before freeing them hours later.

Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina
Prisoner of Conscience

Activist Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina, was recently named a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International after being detained without trial for over three months.

The president of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy was arrested after organizing an activists' meeting inside his own home.

"Cubans are still at the mercy of draconian laws that class activism as a crime and anyone who dares to criticise the authorities is at risk of detention," said Gerardo Ducos.

"In addition to releasing long-term prisoners of conscience, to properly realize freedom of expression the Cuban government also has to change its laws."

Seventy-five people were jailed in a massive crackdown against the dissident movement around 18 March 2003 for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression. Most of them were charged with crimes including “acts against the independence of the state” because they allegedly received funds and/or materials from US-based NGOs financed by the US government.

They were sentenced to between six and 28 years in prison after speedy and unfair trials for engaging in activities the authorities perceived as subversive and damaging to Cuba.

These activities included publishing articles or giving interviews to US-funded media, communicating with international human rights organizations and having contact with entities or individuals viewed to be hostile to Cuba.

Read More

Cuba must release prisoner of conscience on hunger strike (News story, 11 March 2011)
Cuba urged to release jailed activists (News story, 7 February 2011)

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/repression-cuban-dissidents-persists-despite-releases-2011-03-16

Down to 4 of the 75 but a new prisoner suffers unjust imprisonment

"It is ironic, I say, that in an authoritarian state it is only the prisoner of conscience who is genuinely free. Yes, we have given up our right to a normal life. But we have stayed true to that most precious part of our humanity--our conscience." - Aung San Suu Kyi

Sunday, March 6, 2011 marked four months passed since the November 6, 2010 deadline self-imposed by the dictatorship to free all the prisoners of conscience imprisoned during the Cuban Black Spring of 2003. There are dozens of others still imprisoned today but four prisoners of conscience from this group were supposed to have been freed 120 days ago and reunited with their families remain imprisoned as of today:

Oscar Elías Biscet González

José Daniel Ferrer García

Librado Linares García

Félix Navarro Rodríguez

There are other promises that have not been kept. For example today the new special rapporteur on torture Juan E. Méndez taking over Manfred Nowak announced in his report to the Human Rights Council that in November and December of 2010,"[H]e reiterated requests to Cuba, Iraq and Zimbabwe whose respective Governments had extended invitations to visit their countries, but dates have yet to be agreed."

An invitation had been made officially and was publicly extended to Mr. Manfred Nowak by the Cuban government on two occasions first by the Cuban Foreign Minister on January 28, 2009 and reaffirmed in February of 2009, as Cuba underwent its Universal Periodic Review by the Cuban justice minister, Maria Esther Reus, who presented the regime's country report stated that: "The promotion and protection of human rights are guaranteed" and in press accounts reconfirmed that Havana had promised to allow a visit by the United Nations' independent expert on torture, Manfred Nowak.

Manfred Nowak, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture on June 9, 2010 stated “I regret that in spite of its clear invitation, the Government of Cuba has not allowed me to objectively assess the situation of torture and ill-treatment in the country by collecting first-hand evidence from all available sources.”

Sadly, there are new prisoners of conscience suffering what amounts to torture and whose lives hang in the balance. One of them is Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina arrested on December 9, 2010 and brutalized in front of one his children. He is currently hospitalized after prison officials denied him water during his water only hunger strike and nearly killed him. This is the same kind of tactic that claimed the life of prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo on February 23, 2010.

Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina

Cuba, Where Two or Three Months Can Seem Like Eternity

About five hours ago Cuban youth leader and human rights activist Rolando Rodriguez Lobaina tweeted: "Today Néstor marks 2 months of unjust political prison in Guantanamo. Until when the arbitrariness? Free them all now!"

He is referring to his brother and fellow activist Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina beaten and imprisoned on December 9, 2010 by agents of the Cuban regime in an effort to preempt non-violent activities planned for International Human Rights Day on December 10.

Just two days ago, on February 7, 2010 ten Cuban prisoners of conscience imprisoned since March of 2003 or longer observed the passage of the third month since the Cuban regime's self imposed November 7 deadline announced on July 7, 2010 to release all Cuban prisoners of conscience from the Cuban Black Spring.

The ten remaining activists in prison from the 2003 Black Spring are: Pedro Arguelles Moran; Oscar Elias Biscet Gonzalez; Eduardo Diaz Fleitas; Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia; Diosdado Gonzalez Marrero; Ivan Hernandez Carrillo; Librado Ricardo Linares Garcia; Hector Fernando Maseda Gutierrez; Angel Moya Acosta and Felix Navarro Rodriguez.

The regime is pressuring these Cuban democrats, independent journalists, and human rights activists to opt for exile in Spain or remain in prison. Driving some of them and their family members to stage hunger strikes for their freedom before being promised that this will be resolved shortly.

Pedro Argüelles Morán ended his hunger strike today on February 9 after nine days after being visited by a Cuban state security agent who told him that he and the other prisoners would shortly be freed. Time will tell if this representative of the regime is lying or not.

If one wants further proof that communism is an evil system then take a look at Cuba. Cuba, where two or three months can seem like an unpleasant eternity straight out of a chapter of Dante's Divine Comedy. Nevertheless, one should not forget that Mohandas Gandhi's observation holds true:

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall — think of it, always."

Follow Martin Luther King, Jr.'s example and raise your voice against injustice

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for the law.
- Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963

Here, in this dark jail where they force me to live, I will be resisting until the freedom of my people is obtained." - Oscar Elias Biscet, August 25, 2006


Martin Luther King, Jr. would've been 82 today but never saw 40 because an assassin shot the 39 year old Baptist minister in the head on April 4, 1968 at 6:01pm in the midst of the final campaign before his death: the support of a strike by sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee. On the 25th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday where a monument is being erected to honor the man in the nation's capitol it is an important moment to reflect on the man and his legacy. There are numerous entries in this blog about the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., but until now not placed in a Cuban context.

Fernando Delgado, a Cuban on hunger strike in Vienna, Austria because the Cuban regime has denied him entry to his own country without explanation. He has said that he will remain on hunger strike until the Cuban embassy explains the reason for banning him from returning to his homeland. As of January 15, 2010 he has lost 17.6 pounds.

According to Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez, nine hours ago in Banes, Cuba a new repudiation rally was carried out against the family of Orlando Zapata Tamayo including his grieving mother, Reina Luisa Tamayo, subjected to a hate rally organized by the Cuban dictatorship. Orlando Zapata Tamayo, a prisoner of conscience who died on hunger strike on February 23, 2010 demanding an end to the torture and mistreatment of political prisoners. Orlando Zapata following in the footsteps of Martin Luther King Jr. in nonviolent resistance exposed the evil nature of the dictatorship in Cuba during both his life and even in death. Martin Luther King Jr., in a speech he gave in Detroit, Michigan on June 23, 1963 declared: "I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live." Orlando Zapata Tamayo has proven in Cuba the power of the above statement.

For the past half century human rights have been systematically violated and dismissed as "bourgeois" by a dictatorship that has murdered thousands of Cuban nationals and engaged in state terrorism both domestically and internationally.

Now 12 men have refused exile in exchange for freedom preferring to remain in prison then abandon their homeland. Meanwhile another Cuban dissident Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina, imprisoned on December 9, 2010 to prevent him from holding an activity on International Human Rights Day has spent his third day on hunger strike demanding his freedom.

On Hunger Strike: Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina

One of the most well known Cuban prisoners of conscience is also a disciple of Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi his name is Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet Gonzalez. From the bowels of a Cuban prison on June 1, 2003 Dr. Biscet's message to the world referenced Rev. King: My inspiration is alive: God and the great teachers of nonviolence, present today now more than ever. As Martin Luther King said: "If a people can find among their ranks a 5% of men willing to voluntarily go to prison for a cause they consider just then there is no obstacle that can stop them."

Martin Luther King Jr. observed that "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." In a Cuban context the question arises what are you doing or at least saying to denounce these and many more injustices?


You have an opportunity to do something this Sunday , January 16, 2010 at Our Lady of Charity [La Ermita de la Caridad] located at 3609 South Miami Avenue Miami, FL at 2:00pm EST Winnie Biscet, the daughter of Oscar Elias Biscet is organizing a vigil for the freedom of her father and other Cuban prisoners of conscience followed by a special Mass at 3:00pm. She is asking that those in attendance wear black and carry a white flower.

It would also be a good idea to bring posters with the image of Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet and the 11 prisoners of conscience from the 2003 Black Cuban Spring who remain imprisoned refusing exile along with the image of Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina. There names and faces are listed below:

Pedro Argüelles Morán

Oscar Biscet González

Eduardo Díaz Fleitas

José Daniel Ferrer García

Diosdado González Marrero

Iván Hernández Carrillo

Librado Linares García

Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez

Angel Moya Acosta

Félix Navarro Rodríguez

Guido Sigler Amaya

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. - Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963

Defending a Fundamental Right: the Freedom to Return to Your Homeland

Article 13.
• (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
• (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights


International treaties recognize the freedom to leave any country and to return to your homeland as a fundamental right, but regime’s like those operating in Burma and Cuba see this “right” as a “privilege” to be granted or withheld depending on the whims of the ruling junta.

Yoani Sanchez

For example, on nine occasions over the past three years Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez has been denied permission to travel outside of Cuba to attend a conference and return home.

Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina

In March of 2010 Cuban opposition activist Nestor Rodriguez Lobaina was denied permission to attend a human rights conference in Switzerland to which he had been invited to attend as a speaker. Juan Juan Almeida had to engage in a prolonged hunger strike to be able to travel outside of Cuba to obtain much needed medical treatment. Cuban prisoners of conscience released into forced exile are denied the right of return to their country. These are but just four examples of a systematic pattern where Cubans are denied the right to leave Cuba and to later return to their homeland.



This practice angers many and the dictatorship cannot respond with a convincing argument. In 2008 Ricardo Alarcon attempted to explain why Cubans are not free to travel like other peoples from around the world only to draw ridicule.

In addition to not being able to travel freely outside of Cuba, Cubans are also subjected to restrictions from traveling and residing in different parts of Cuba itself.

Both types of restrictions are in violation of Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reproduced at the top of the page of which Cuba is a signatory.

Jose Maria Heredia

Cuban opposition leader Oswaldo Paya Sardiñas has launched a petition drive to obtain passage of the National Reunion Project Heredia Bill named in honor of Jose Maria Heredia, poet and Cuban patriot exiled from Cuba during the Spanish colonial period. It is described as a campaign for the right of Cubans to travel freely and for the elimination of humiliating discrimination against Cubans in their own country.

Oswaldo Paya Sardiñas

This trampling of the fundamental right to travel has not just been carried out against Cubans but in the past against East Germans trying to cross into West Germany and more recently with the sad plight of Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma (Myanmar). Fearing that she would not be allowed to return home to Burma Suu Kyi was unable to visit her husband as he died from cancer or see her children. In addition the military junta would not allow her husband into the country to visit his wife nor even today allow her children to visit their mother.

Aung San Suu Kyi and her late husband, Michael Aris

Other regimes today such as the People’s Republic of China and North Korea also ignore this fundamental right of its citizenry. In the case of communist China the wife and relatives of 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo are barred from traveling to Oslo to accept the award on the Chinese dissident's behalf. In the case of North Korea "illegally exiting" the country can lead to execution.

Exposing this trampling of fundamental human rights and campaigns to address this injustice is a small step to take in solidarity with people denied this basic right.

World Youth Day for Democracy: October 18, 2010

"Commit yourself to the noble struggle for human rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country and a finer world to live in." - Martin Luther King, Jr.












Alexandra Joner (above left) Cuban-Norwegian girl (age 19) bitten by Cuban diplomat in Oslo. Above right brothers Nestor & Rolando Rodríguez Lobaina activists who have been detained, beaten and imprisoned for their human rights activism in Cuba.

The dictatorship in Cuba is run by elderly men in their 70s and 80s who distrust the youth of the country. They have diplomats that are not diplomatic that insult and bite Cuban youth in other countries. This is what they do in free countries where this behavior is unacceptable:



Imagine what they are doing to young people in Cuba. Thanks to twitter you don't have to and there is now a clearer idea of what goes on in real time. Imagine on a Friday afternoon while many young people are preparing for a night on the town others like Luis Felipe Rojas and Jose A Triguero find their homes surrounded by Cuban state security and under surveillance. Check out Luis Felipe's blog translated to English here.

Blogger Luis Felipe Rojas suffers detentions, harassment and state security surveillance in Cuba.

As Saturday approaches a Guantanamo family made up of Rogelio Tabio, his wife Rosaida Ramirez and their two children are subjected to days of physical violence and intimidation in an act of repudiation taking place at their home with over 500 people bussed in by the dictatorship. When young activists tried to demonstrate their solidarity with the victims of this repression they were detained.

Cuban youth leader Rolando R. Lobaina is detained in Santiago, Cuba at 8pm on a Saturday night by five Cuban state security G2 officials and his friends don't know where he is being held.

Signing a petition for human rights to be respected in Cuba or obtaining a scholarship to study at university abroad can get you expelled from school and subjected to a mob attack.

2009 WYMD regional essay contest winner from Cuba Cristian Toranzo denied by Cuban dictatorship permission to travel to World Movement for Democracy Assembly in Jakarta

Unlike most youth of the world young Cubans cannot travel the world freely but have to obtain the dictatorship's permission to enter and exit their own country. Cristian Toranzo was a 2009 Latin American regional winner for the World Youth Movement for Democracy essay contest and was not allowed to travel to attend the World Movement for Democracy in Jakarta, Indonesia unlike other winners from around the world. Please read Cristian's winning essay here which offers an insight into the thinking of a young Cuban activist in Cuba who has suffered beatings and detentions for his defense of human rights and democratic values.

On this World Youth Day for Democracy October 18, 2010 please take a moment out of your day to think about these brave youth confronting a totalitarian dictatorship.

Amnesty International Urgent Action - Cuba: 5 PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS ARBITRARILY DETAINED

PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS ARBITRARILY DETAINED

Five men, all members of a pro-democracy organization in Cuba have been detained in connection with their political beliefs and activities. They have been held by police since 12 August, and have not had access to a lawyer. It is unclear if they have been charged. They could be facing an unfair trial.

On 11 August, seven men, members of the organization Youth for Democracy (Jovenes por la Democracia), were holding a meeting at the home of one of their members, Nestor Rodríguez Lobaina, in the town of Baracoa, in Guantánamo province. Two of them, Yordis García Fournier and Eriberto Liranza Romero, went to find out about return tickets at the bus station, but were detained by police soon after leaving the house at around midday. They were held without charge until 16 August.

When the rest of the group at Nestor Rodríguez's home found out their two colleagues had been detained, they hung banners and posters outside the house protesting against their detention. Within a few hours, a group of supporters of the authorities had gathered outside the house, shouting insults and throwing stones, some of which hit members of Youth for Democracy. At around 3 pm, four more members of the organization arrived at the house. When they saw the mob outside the house, they decided to go in through the back door. There, they were questioned by state security agents and taken into detention. They were released two days later, on 13 August.

On 12 August, state security officials entered the house and detained all five members of Youth for Democracy who were there: Nestor Rodríguez Lobaina and his brother Rolando, Enyor Díaz Allen, Roberto González Pelegrín and Francisco Manzanet. They are still in detention and have not had access to a lawyer. They have been told that they will be charged with "public disorder" (“desorden público”), but it is not clear if charges have yet been filed against them. Once they are charged, they could be tried within hours. It appears their detention is politically motivated.

Roberto González Pelegrín and Francisco Manzanet have been on hunger strike since 12 August in protest at their detention, and are held at the provincial hospital in Guantánamo. According to relatives of Nestor Rodríguez, at 7 am on 13 August, state security officials returned to the house and searched it, even though they did not have a warrant to do so. They confiscated items including books, laptops and mobile phones. They spent 12 hours in the house.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Spanish or your own language:

• urging the government to release Nestor and Rolando Rodríguez Lobaina, Enyor Díaz Allen, Roberto González Pelegrín and Francisco Manzanet immediately and unconditionally, unless they are to be charged with an internationally recognized criminal offence and tried according to international standards for fair trial;
• calling on the authorities to cease the harassment, intimidation and persecution of citizens who seek to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of expression, assembly and association.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 06 OCTOBER 2010 TO:

Head of State and Government
Raúl Castro Ruz
Presidente
La Habana, Cuba
Fax: +53 7 8333085 (via Foreign Ministry); +1 2127791697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)
Email: cuba@un.int (c/o Cuban Mission to UN)
Salutation: Su Excelencia/Your Excellency

Interior Minister
General Abelardo Coloma Ibarra
Ministro del Interior y Prisiones
Ministerio del Interior, Plaza de la Revolución, La Habana, Cuba
Fax: +53 7 8333085 (via Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
+1 2127791697 (via Cuban Mission to UN)
Salutation: Su Excelencia/Your Excellency

And copies to:
Ambassador
Mr José Luis Robaina García
Embassy of the Republic of Cuba, Wellington
PO Box 3294,
Wellington 6140
Fax: (04) 473 2958
Email: embajada@xtra.co.nz
Salutation: Your Excellency

Please check with the Urgent Action Team if sending appeals after the above date.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Freedom of assembly, association and expression in Cuba continues to be severely restricted and many arrests have taken place around commemorations of past events and demonstrations. The detentions last usually for few hours after which the detainee is released with a warning not to take part in any dissenting activities, or would otherwise face charges. Short term detention is commonly used by Cuban authorities as a method to intimidate citizens and to deter them from peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression, assembly and association.

For more information see:

- Restrictions on freedom of expression in Cuba, Report, Index Number: AMR 25/005/2010, 30 June 2010, at: http://bit.ly/9xnktZ

- Rock and repression in Cuba, Video, 7 July 2010, at:http://bit.ly/c5rtpl

UA: 186/10 Index: AMR 25/013/2010 Issue Date: 25 August 2010

http://us1.campaign-archive.com/?u=552e2eef05687afb40af93bf8&id=e110b2b61d

30 NGOs Appeal for Cuban Human Rights Defender Nestor Rodríguez Lobaina, former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience

Urgent NGO Appeal for Cuban Human Rights Defender Nestor Rodríguez Lobaina, former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience

Traducción al español

4 March 2010

Dear Madam High Commissioner,

We urge you to intervene with the Cuban government to challenge its unlawful barring of human rights defender Néstor Rodríguez Lobaina from leaving the country and addressing this Monday’s 2nd Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy.

As you know, Mr. Lobaina is president of the Cuban Youth Movement for Democracy, and one of the most recognized dissidents in Cuba. He was jailed for more than five years for the crimes of "disrespect," "public disorder," and "damage," and became the object of a worldwide Amnesty International campaign to free him as a prisoner of conscience.

The global civil society organizers of the Geneva Summit invited Mr. Lobaina to be a distinguished panel speaker at their conference. He duly received all necessary approval from the Swiss authorities. However, the Cuban government has refused to grant Mr. Lobaina permission to exit, thereby preventing him from participating at this important gathering of human rights defenders.

Under Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.” Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights similarly guarantees that “Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own.” This right “shall not be subject to any restrictions except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others, and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Covenant.” In General Comment No. 27 (1999), the UN Human Rights Committee established that restrictions on the right to leave must be “provided by law, must be necessary in a democratic society for the protection of these purposes and must be consistent with all other rights recognized in the Covenant.” None of these conditions have been met by Cuba’s restrictions in the present case.

Article 5c of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, guarantees that “[f]or the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, at the national and international levels [...] to communicate with nongovernmental or intergovernmental organizations.”

Travel restrictions such as those imposed on Mr. Lobaina unfairly and arbitrarily impair his ability and the ability of his organization to address international forums about human rights concerns in Cuba.

For these reasons, we urge you to intervene with the Cuban authorities to see that they immediately lift these restrictions against Mr. Lobaina. We also urge you to demand that the Cuban authorities ensure in all circumstances that human rights defenders are able to carry out their work without unjustified hindrances.

We look to you and the United Nations to reverse this counter-productive decision to block a human rights defender from conducting his work. We hope this travel ban will be lifted so that Mr. Lobaina can join fellow dissidents this Monday at the Geneva Summit, and thereafter travel without restriction.

Thank you for your urgent attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Paula Schriefer, Director of Advocacy, Freedom House
John Suarez, International Secretary, Directorio
Bart Woord, President, International Federation of Liberal Youth
Tashi Albertini, President, Associazione Ticino Tibet
Hillel Neuer, Executive Director, UN Watch
Maran Turner, Executive Director, Freedom Now
Nazanin Afshin-Jam, President and Co-Founder Stop Child Executions
Ahmad Batebi, Founder, Human Rights Activists in Iran
Gabriel Salvia, Chairman, CADAL
Gibreil I. M. Hamid, President, Darfur Peace and Development Centre
Jacob Mchangama, Head of Legal Affairs, Center for Political Studies
Phil ya Nangoloh, Executive Director, National Society for Human Rights of Namibia
Harris Schoenberg, President, UN Reform Advocates
Carlos E. Tinoco, President, A.C. Socrates de Venezuela
A. P. Gautam, Member Secretary, Nepal International Consumers Union
Aixa Armas, Secretaria General, Espacio Civil
Omar Lopez, Executive Director, Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba
Theodor Rathgeber, German Forum Human Rights
Catherine Waters, Main Representative, Catholic International Education Office
Jaime Vintimilla, Executive Director, CIDES
Kok Ksor, President, Montagnard Foundation
Anne Shay, Justice Contact, Presentation Congregation
Margarita Lacabe, Executive Director, Derechos Human Rights
Joan Powers, Coordinator, Presentation Sisters Victoria Justice Ministry
Tanja Mirabile, INCOMINDIOS Switzerland
Abdurashid Abdulle Abikar, Chairman, Center for Youth and Democracy
Forum Maghrebin Pour L'environneùent et Le Développement Morocco
Ted Brooks, Jr., Executive Director, Committee for Peace and Development Advocacy
Nguyên Hoàng Bao Viêt, Delegate, Vietnamese Writers in Exile Centre
Nguyên Lê Nhân Quyên, Delegate, Vietnamese League for Human Rights
Klaus Netter, Main Representative, Coordinating Board of Jewish Organizations
Jeff King, President, International Christian Concern