Expel Cuba from the UN Human Rights Council

Rosa María Payá, Cuba Decide and Julie Trebault, Int'l PEN at the UNHRC

Today, in the  in Geneva, Switzerland Rosa María Payá Acevedo addressed the UN Human Rights Council and called for the expulsion of Cuba from the UN Human Rights Council. Below is the text followed by the video provided by CubaDecide of her presentation.

ITEM 6: UPR outcomes – Cuba, UPR Report Consideration

My name is Rosa María Payá, our citizen initiative Cuba Decide defends the right of the Cuban people to live in democracy, a right that is denied by the constitution imposed by the leaders in my country.

Mr. President, Cuba should be expelled from this Council for its serious and systematic violations of human rights.

In April 2022, Russia was expelled from this Council. Today we officially call for the same to be done with Cuba, under article 8 of United Nations Resolution 60/251. The Cuban government is an ally of Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine and facilitates the sending of young Cubans to the Russian army.

The Cuban government uses state terrorism against its citizens, using the following methods:

1. The government extrajudicially executes its opponents: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ruled that the Cuban State is responsible for the murder of my father Oswaldo Payá, Cuban democratic leader, and Harold Cepero.

2. The government represses, imprisons and tortures those who think differently: There are more than 1000 people in prison in Cuba for expressing their opinion publicly. Among them Jose Daniel Ferrer, opposition leader systematically tortured and in danger of death.

3. The government violates fundamental human rights and prevents Cubans from prospering with the fruit of their labor, forcing the people into a deep humanitarian crisis.

Despite the hunger and repression imposed, hundreds of thousands of Cubans come out peacefully demanding a change of system to democracy.

We urge this Council to listen to the voices of our people and to demand that Cuban leaders submit to the sovereign will of the citizens. To this end, we urge the international community to demand that all electoral guarantees be respected in Cuba, including freedom of expression, association and access to information, the end of repression and the freedom of all political prisoners, with the objective of changing the system in a binding plebiscite and beginning the transition to democracy.

Mr. President, member states, it is time to stand with the Cuban people and expel Cuba from this Council.

 Join Rosa María Payá’s call to expel the Cuban dictatorship from the UN Human Rights Council by signing the petition, Expel Cuba from the UN Human Rights Council.