Cuba: Issues and Actions in the 114th Congress Page: 17 of 98
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Cuba: Issues and Actions in the 114th Congress
Estado de SATS, a forum founded in 2010 by human rights activist Antonio Rodiles, has had the
goal of encouraging open debate on cultural, social, and political issues.26 The group has hosted
numerous events and human rights activities over the years, but has also been the target of
government harassment. In November 2012, Rodiles was arrested and held for 19 days on
charges with "resisting authority," but he was released after Amnesty International issued an
urgent appeal on his case. In early July 2015, Rodiles was severely beaten for attempting to
participate in the weekly protest march of the Ladies in White.27
Human Rights Reporting on Cuba
Amnesty International (Al), Cuba, https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/americas/cubal.
Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (Comisi6n Cubana de Derechos
Humanos y Reconciliaci6n Nacional, CCDHRN), the independent Havana-based human rights organization
produces a monthly report on short-term detentions for political reasons.
CCDHRN, "Cuba: Algunos Actos de Represion Politica en el Mes de Diciembre de 2016,"January 5, 2017.
CCDHRN, "Comunicado" April 25, 2016 (list of political prisoners), available at http://www.I4ymedio.com/
nacional/LISTA-PRESOS-COMUNICADO2_CYMFIL20160425_0001 .pdf.
14ymedio.com, independent digital newspaper, based in Havana available at http://www.l4ymedio.com/.
Human Rights Watch (HRW), https://www.hrw.org/americas/cuba.
HRW's 2017 World Report maintains that "the Cuban government continues to repress dissent and punish
public criticism," available at https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/cuba.
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Annual Report 2015, March 17, 2016, Chapter IV has a
section on Cuba, available at http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/docs/annual/2015/doc-en/InformeAnual2015-Cap4-Cuba-
EN.pdf.
U.S. Department of State, Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2015, April 13, 2016, available at
http://www.state.gov/j/d rl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2015&dlid=253005.
Trafficking in Persons. The State Department released its 2016 Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
Report on June 30, 2016, and for the second consecutive year Cuba was placed on the Tier 2
Watchlist (in prior years, Cuba had Tier 3 status).28 Tier 3 status refers to countries whose
governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards for combatting trafficking and are
not making significant efforts to do so. In contrast, Tier 2 Watchlist status refers to countries
whose governments, despite making significant efforts, do not fully comply with the minimum
standards and still have some specific problems (an increasing number of victims or failure to
provide evidence of increasing anti-trafficking efforts) or whose governments have made
commitments to take additional anti-trafficking steps over the next year.
The State Department maintained in its 2015 report that Cuba was upgraded to Tier 2 Watchlist
status because of its progress in addressing and prosecuting sex trafficking, including the
provision of services to sex trafficking victims, and its continued efforts to address sex tourism
and the demand for commercial sex.
In its 2016 report, the State Department maintained that Cuba remained on the Tier 2 Watchlist
for the second consecutive year because the country did not demonstrate overall increasing anti-
26 See the group's website at http://www.estadodesats.com/.
27 Nora Games Torres, "Cuban Dissidents Report Being Attacked by Government Security Forces," Miami Herald,
July 6, 2015.
28 U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2016, pp. 146-147, at http://www.state.gov/documents/
organization/258876.pdf.Congressional Research Service
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Sullivan, Mark P. Cuba: Issues and Actions in the 114th Congress, report, January 18, 2017; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc990720/m1/17/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.