International advocacy
Joint Mid-term Report | Universal Periodic Report on Cuba
In preparation for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cuba in 2023, Artist at Risk Connection (ARC) – PEN America, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Freemuse, and PEN International have submitted a mid-term report.
The UPR refers to a periodic review process conducted by the United Nations Human Rights Council, examining the human rights record of all member states. Cuba was previously reviewed in 2009, 2013, and 2018.
This submission evaluates the implementation of recommendations made in the third cycle UPR and assesses the Cuban authorities’ compliance with international human rights obligations with respect to fundamental freedoms and cultural rights, particularly concerning:
- Attacks on freedom of artistic expression;
- Restrictions on accessing internet and online services; and
- Limitations on the right to peaceful assembly.
As part of the third cycle UPR process in 2018, the Government of Cuba received 339 recommendations. Of these, 226 were accepted, 30 were not supported on the grounds of being “incompatible with constitutional principles and domestic legal order,” and 83 were noted. Some of the accepted and noted recommendations aimed at ensuring the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly, and freedom of religion or belief.
However, a crackdown on fundamental freedoms has intensified since the third cycle UPR in 2018. Journalists, human rights defenders, and independent artists — particularly members of the Movimiento San Isidro (MSI) and the artists collective 27N—have been subject to systematic censorship and harassment initiated by Cuban authorities.
The report concludes with the following recommendations to the Government of Cuba:
- Immediately release all artists currently detained or imprisoned for their peaceful expressions.
- In accordance with the recommendations expressed by the Committee on Enforced Disappearances on the 2018 OHCHR report for the Working Group in the 13th session, Cuba should guarantee that all persons deprived of liberty have access to a lawyer from the outset of the deprivation of liberty.
- Develop a national strategy and action plan to uphold the safety of artists and cultural workers in advance of the next UPR review. Priority should be given to measures to protect artists from prosecution and arbitrary arrests due to their exercise of the right to freedom of artistic expression.
Submitted on June 6, 2021.