Human Rights in Perspective

'Human rights' is a term which does not define itself - it must be defined in the context of who is using the term and why. Often ‘human rights' does not mean human rights - it is frequently a smokescreen or a political contrivance. The Cubans have a very wide definition of what constitutes a human right while the US or other countries of the developed world have a much narrower definition. Both approaches to establishing a definition of human rights cannot be the definitive definition which is why the term must always be defined in context. Failure to do this places the observer or commentator in one camp or another but always taking sides with one side or the other. This is all very well if you know whose side a particular commentator is on.

For instance, it will be clear to the reader of this pamphlet that there will be at the very least a great deal of sympathy for the Cuban (or broad) definition of human rights. It is a document produced by Cuba Support Group and this is clear to the reader who we assume is alerted by our openness to the possibility of bias.  But, when the approach is supposed to be neutral and objective as in a daily newspaper, for instance, we face a different problem. First question is - is it objective? If so, who or what has influenced that objectivity?

Has the reporter approached the subject from a broad or narrow perspective? And if the developed world normally takes a narrow approach to analysing human rights then can we not expect that the reporters and observers of that background will almost invariably take a similar approach. In search of a better world, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations proclaims to seek the creation of conditions of economic, judicial, political and social equality for all human beings. It maintains that every person shall have the right to work and that they will be protected against unemployment.

Every person has a right to an adequate standard of living that will provide for that person and family's health, nutrition, clothing, housing, medical and social care. The Declaration necessitates that at a political level all governments must establish a truly democratic system complete with social equality, popular empowerment and the representation of all citizens' rights. We cannot prioritise some human rights as being more important than others. All of them deserve the same respect.

Equally, we cannot ignore some issues in favour of others as it suits the situation. Most importantly we should not abuse the issue of human rights itself to justify a particular end. In Ireland we tend to highlight and prioritise certain abuses from the tableaux of world misery and frequently our emphasis betrays where our sympathies lie. In a world characterised by turmoil, violence and suffering human rights are becoming more and more politicised and manipulated as a means of deflecting attention away from wars, the arms industry, hunger, the rampage of curable disease and the unemployment epidemic in the North. 

Now governments of the North sit in judgment of the countries of the South, monitoring particular and selective rights while conveniently ignoring the detrimental effects of the policies they have implemented on the human rights of whole populations via such institutions as the World Bank, the IMF and through trade restrictions or embargos or blockades for instance. Or, as in the case of Cuba, accusing Cuba of violations of human rights while standing idly by as the US tries to starve a nation into submission and only responding to that situation when the US went too far and interfered in our domestic laws and our right to trade.

National Security, Emergency Legislation and Restriction of Expression
Whenever a nation feels threatened by either internal or external forces it tends to react in a particular way in order to defend its stability or its sovereignty. International conventions such as the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on Civil and Political Rights make provision for countries to enact and enforce emergency powers in response to real (or imagined) threats to the state. In 1939 the Irish state reacted to the IRA by introducing the Emergency Powers Act. This allowed the state to intern those whom it was believed were involved with the IRA. This Act was maintained until 1994.

When it was finally repealed in 1994, the state decided to maintain some of its provisions, including the Special Criminal Court which allows people to be tried without the benefit of a jury. In Ireland today the government has only to declare a “war” on any particular issue and the next thing is we have the introduction of ‘special' provisions to execute the chosen “war”.

The special courts that were once used to convict republicans are now being used to convict criminals and drug dealers.  In Cuba, those who are perceived to be part of the US attempt to destabilise the government are detained and sometimes imprisoned. The Cuban government has enacted laws on security in response to a very real and sustained threat from the US and there is no doubt that these laws restrict individual freedoms. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in 1996, Carlos Lage, Vice-President of the Cuba National Assembly, has this to say on the issue of people sentenced under Cuban law for activities against the state:

"It is true, we admit it, and it cannot be otherwise, because our people are ready to defend their independence and their achievements at all costs. No one can force a country to live under siege and require it to govern its affairs as if it belonged in the happiest and most peaceful of all worlds. Some say that we should change to solve this conflict but the term "blockade" and "changes" are opposite and contradict one another." In order for any country to fulfil its economic and political role on the international stage the government of that country must have a certain amount of prestige and credibility. Realising this fact it is easier to see why the US insists on depicting Cuba as a systematic violator of human rights. As far as Cuba is concerned all attempts to destroy its image and internal stability are an attack on Cuban security.



While Cuba's national security is under threat from external forces it will maintain its somewhat severe security measures with regard to freedom of expression. Cuba has challenged the US to lift its blockade of the island guaranteeing that if it does so Cuba would step down its security measures.

This suggestion is a lot more constructive than the US self righteously condemning alleged human rights abuses while systematically denying food, medicine and basic supplies to a whole nation; deliberately endangering the social advances achieved in Cuba; illegally funding so-called dissidents, allowing anti-Cuban paramilitary outfits such as Alpha 66 to train with impunity; imprisoning Cubans in the US who expose anti-Cuban terrorists operating in the US; encouraging trafficking with its “wet-foot – dry-foot” immigration policies and a host of other illegal hostile activities.

Cuba in Context
Cuba is a Third World developing country whose very existence is under threat from its powerful neighbour. Monstrous inequality is what inspired the Cuban Revolution. The people rose up to ensure that neither they nor their families would ever have to endure such degradations again. The government that evolved from the revolution understood that recognition of and respect for human dignity was a crucial prerequisite for a society based on equality. The US interpreted these developments as a threat and has been actively attempting to destroy them and recapture their previous control. We put forward these facts not to excuse any alleged human rights violations on Cuba's part but to offer a context from which to understand the issue of human rights in Cuba.

Cuba is unique in the developing world in that its people have chosen freely to advance and improve upon the socialist system they adopted almost 50 years ago. If all human rights are of equal importance and deserve equal respect then societies where all citizens can expect real equality and well being are to be commended. It is only when a society can translate such aspirations into action that it can be said that it is promoting and protecting the human rights of its citizens. Cuba's record is beyond reproach when it comes to such actions. Indeed their reputation ranks them among the more developed countries and their achievements are the aspiration of their neighbours.  Respect for human rights can be measured by the way a society treats its children for instance.

If you compare Cuba's achievements with other third world countries then it is impossible to speak of a Cuban culture characterised by oppression and violence.  All education is free and compulsory through to the third year of secondary school. Everyone has access to free medical care. The plague of child prostitution, which is spreading in other third World countries, is non-existent in Cuba. Infant mortality rate in Latin American is often more than 60 per 1000 births, in Cuba it is 5.56 per 1000 live births. In real terms this figure means that the lives of thousands of babies are saved each year. Adults can expect to live to at least 75 years. Everyone has been given the possibility to work and all citizens enjoy social protection.

In Cuba everyone has the opportunity to develop intellectually and physically without any discrimination based on wealth, sex or race. The social and economic developments since the revolution have instigated a sense of solidarity among the people. They feel that they are a part of their society which gives them a sense of dignity in who they are and in their homeland. It is this faith, pride and solidarity in themselves and their government which has foiled all attempts to destroy the society they have succeeded in building.

Lest we forget, Cuba is continually under threat from the US. Everyday, US trained and armed groups, such as Alpha 66, are trained to carry out acts of aggression against Cuba. If there is any abuse of human rights in Cuba it would have to be that of the right to dissent. The treatment of those who speak out against the prevailing ethos is a reaction against the sustained threats from outside to crush Cuba. If this explains the situation it does not necessarily excuse it. But, the Cuban government readily acknowledges that in common with most other countries in the world it needs to improve its human rights situation - under both the narrow and broad definitions - and continues to work towards that end. 

What Cuba deserves, at the very least, is a critical, objective and comparative assessment of it record taking into account both its achievements and its failures and its demonstrated desire to address its shortcomings. Flinging selective, politically motivated abuse while ignoring the blockade and its affects on the people hardly offers much reassurance to the Cuban government that those who show such close interest in its human rights affairs do so out of genuine concern. When ‘concern' originates from the US or is sponsored by the US it is little wonder that Cuba quite literally detects a very smelly rat.

Fidel Castro on... Human Rights

"No children in Cuba have to beg or are homeless; no children have to scrounge a living in the streets."

"In our country everyone knows how to read and write. Hundreds of millions of children in the world don't have access to medical treatment, but in Cuba every child goes to school and has access to medical care."

"Child prostitution which is general in the rest of the Third World does not exist in Cuba." "In Cuba every human being has an equal opportunity to develop physically and intellectually, without any discrimination based on race or sex. This is true for everyone without any differences between rich and poor." 

"Life expectancy has increased considerably - to over 75 years - since the triumph of the revolution. We have given every citizen dozens of additional years and the possibility of a healthier, safer life." (speaking in 1990).

"In our country, everybody has been given the possibility of working, and all citizens have social protection through retirement, pensions and social security. No one has been left to their fate in the years since the revolution."

"Those irritating differences between millionaire and beggars have disappeared; no one has to beg here now. People need more than bread: they need honour, dignity, respect and to be treated like human beings."

"For more than 30 years, no measures of force have been employed against the people. For more than 30 years, no workers', farmers', students' or other people's demonstrations have been repressed. For more than 30 years, no police or soldiers have hurled themselves against the people in order to beat them up or repress them, and no trucks, tear gas or buck shot have been used against the people here." (speaking in 1990)

"Here, we share what we have. We don't have any gross inequality, with some having much more than they need and dying of heart attacks and cholesterol, while others starve to death. Here we share everything our country belongs to all of us, and its riches belong to all of us too." "In Latin America, we know of countless cases of violence, torture, disappearances, death squads and other crimes. In the years since the revolution, Cuba hasn't had any death squads or any victims of those illegal methods of imposing order. No people have disappeared in Cuba since the revolution."

"I think that it is an affront to our people to suppose that they would support a revolution that didn't have such a blameless record or to suppose that they were unable to denounce any violation of that kind that might be committed in our country, because our people wouldn't accept - wouldn't tolerate- any such thing."

"What basis can there be for all the slander campaigns launched against Cuba? Naturally, we are accustomed to this, and it just rolls off our backs, because we're used to the imperialists' baseness. How can they survive without lies? How can they explain all of the crimes they commit against the world, if not with lies and calumny, trying to discredit those who oppose them?

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,  Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,  Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,  Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations, 

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,  Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in cooperation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,  Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge, 

Now, therefore, the General Assembly, proclaims this Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article I All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. 

Article 2 Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.  Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self- governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. 

Article 3 Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. 

Article 4 No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. 

Article 5 No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 

Article 6 Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. 

Article 7 All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. 

Article 8 Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law. 

Article 9 No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. 

Article 10 Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him. 

Article 11  1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.  2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed. 

Article 12 No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. 

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. 

Article 14  1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.  2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. 

Article 15  1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.  2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality. 

Article 16  1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.  2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.  3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. 

Article 17  1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.  2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property. 

Article 18 Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. 

Article 19 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. 

Article 20  1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.  2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association. 

Article 21  1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.  2. Everyone has the right to equal access to public service in his country.  3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures. 

Article 22 Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality. 

Article 23  1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.  2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.  3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.  4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests. 

Article 24 Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay. 

Article 25  1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.  2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection. 

Article 26  1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.  2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.  3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. 

Article 27  1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.  2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author. 

Article 28 Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized. 1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.

Article 29 1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.  2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.  3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. 

Article 30 Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.