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.......................................................................................................................................................................... “In the name of those thousands of Cubans who have been repressed and tortured, and whose fundamental rights are violated, I ask the Council to do justice for the Cuban people,” concluded Ramón Castillo’s remarks before the Council. The statement, referred to as an intervention, took place during the open debate on the human rights situation on the Island, after the presentation of the final reporto n the Universal Periodic Review process carried out at the beginning of February, 2009 “The interventions by Ramón Castillo as well as by the representative for Human Rights match were critical and persuasive, despite the allegations against them before the Council made by the Havana regime’s ambassador,” stated John Suárez, director of International Relations for the Cuban Democratic Directorate (Directorio) who is attending the session in Geneva. The activists were able to participate in this international forum thanks to the support of the Centrist Democrat International. The representatives of the cause for human rights in “It has been a marvelous experience to participate in this international dialogue where, once again, the regime resorted to rhetoric and its claims were laid bare thanks to the remarks we made and those by Human Rights Watch. It makes no sense for the regime to speak of human rights if it has not adhered to the covenants on civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights,” stated former political prisoner José Gabriel Ramón Castillo by telephone to Directorio. Below is the full text of José Gabriel Ramón Castillo’s statement before the Council: INTERVENTION AT THE 11th SESSION OF THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, June 2009. Thank you, Mr. President: My name is José Gabriel Ramón Castillo. I was declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, and I testify before this forum as a victim of repression in The ratification of the International Covenants on Civil, Political, Social, Economic, and Cultural rights is still a pending matter. My question concerning this- Will it be possible to put a date on definitive adherence to these Covenants? As long as Cuba does not ratify these Covenants, the human rights situation will continue to depend on the political will of the Government, and there is no guarantee whatsoever that the current situation will change. On page 2, the aforementioned document indicates that “ The reality is that in On page 8, the aforementioned document speaks of the self-determination of peoples, and economic, social, and cultural rights are mentioned. Nevertheless, the self-determination of Cuban workers is not respected in The Council of Human Rights Rapporteurs of Cuba has documented 21 deaths in prison in 2009 due to denial of medical attention and/or psychological harassment. There have been 500 cases of arbitrary arrests and 26 imprisonments of human rights activists. Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, executive director of the Council, as well as Julio Romero Muñoz of the Free Expression Solidarity Movement, have been persecuted for sending reports to the Universal Periodic Review Committee. Mr. President, in the name of those thousands of Cubans who have been repressed and tortured, and whose fundamental rights are violated, I ask the Council to do justice for the Cuban people. Thank you. URL: www.directorio.org/pressreleases/note.php?note_id=2467 © 2025 Directorio Democrático Cubano |