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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what research his Department has commissioned regarding human rights in Cuba; and what statistical information his Department has compiled regarding human rights violations. [186776] Mr. Rammell: The UK closely monitors the human rights situation in Cuba through our Embassy in Havana. The Embassy has frequent contact with local human rights groups and with the peaceful opposition across Cuba. They keep track on human rights trends and political prisoners, and regularly report back to London. We also maintain dialogue with international NGOs who study Cuba. The EU, through the local Presidency in Havana, also monitors the human rights situation and submits comprehensive reports to all member states. The local Presidency regularly seeks opportunities to raise human rights and individual cases of concern with the Cuban authorities. UK policy toward Cuba is governed by the EU Common Position, which has respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined as its key principle. The Common Position is reviewed annually but, in view of the lack of progress, has stood unchanged since its adoption in 1996. The last review was on 15 June 2004. Following a major crackdown on opposition in Cuba in March 2003 and the imprisonment of a further 75 peaceful opposition members, EU member states agreed unanimously to additional measures that reflected our human rights concerns. The Cuban response was to reject all EU development aid through official channels and to `freeze' contact with EU Embassies in Havana. Six of the 75 prisoners have since been released, and we shall continue to evaluate the situation. We remain committed to dialogue and actively seek ways to engage in all areas; recent cooperation includes law enforcement, cultural links and development work.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

426 c224-5W; 186776

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Human rights Prisoners Statistics Research Cuba

Link

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