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Cuba: Prisons

Answer

Human rights remain central to UK and EU policy on Cuba and are a key element of the EU-Cuba political dialogue. We are particularly concerned about the high levels of political prisoners (including those in poor health) and prison conditions in Cuba. We routinely raise this issue together with a range of human rights concerns in bilateral and EU discussions with Cuba. I myself recently raised human rights in general, and specifically called for the release of all political prisoners in a letter to the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. Our embassy in Havana also recently raised these issues formally with the Cuban Government on 12 December 2009, and regularly raises them in the margins of other meetings. Further, at Cuba's Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council in February 2009 we raised specific concerns about political prisoners and the lack of independent access to Cuban prisons. We recommended that Cuba establish a recurrent system of review of its prisons by UN or other relevant international observers. At every session of the EU-Cuba political dialogue (in October 2008, May 2009 and November 2009) the EU has called for the release of all political prisoners, and encouraged Cuba to allow international humanitarian organisations to visit Cuban prisons. The EU has also handed over a list of prisoners in poor health who remain a particular concern. Most recently on 25 February 2010 (following the death of a Cuban hunger striker) a spokesperson for the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs issued a statement which highlighted the Cuban Government's responsibility to protect all prisoners under their jurisdiction. We will continue to raise these issues with the Cuban Government, both bilaterally and through the EU, and encourage them to arrange dates for a proposed visit by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, who has said he want so visit all categories of detention facilities and types of detainee in Cuba.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

2525; 718 c239-40WA

Session

2009-10

Subjects

Human rights Prisoners Prisons Political prisoners Standards EU external relations Cuba

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk