US submits resolution condemning Cuba rights record News
US submits resolution condemning Cuba rights record

[JURIST] The United States submitted a draft resolution to the UN Commission on Human Rights [official website] Tuesday criticizing the human rights record of Cuba [government website]. The US annually submits a similar resolution as part of its efforts to keep up international pressure on the communist Latin American nation. The US also urged the renewal of Christine Chanet as special investigator on human rights for Cuba. Chanet released her 2004 report on Cuba's human rights situation [PDF] last month, criticizing Cuba for its continued incarceration of political prisoners, repression of free speech and assembly rights, and strict limitations on the press. UN Human Rights Commission resolutions carry no mandatory weight, but a negative sanction is a public reprimand that most nations seek to avoid. Last year's resolution condemning Cuba's human rights record only passed by two votes, with ten abstentions. AP has more.