REFLECTIONS FROM THE EU ON PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000088 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2019 TAGS: PREL PHUM CU EC SUBJECT: REFLECTIONS FROM THE EU ON PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS IN CUBA Classified By: Chief of Mission Jonathan Farrar for reasons 1.4 (d) and (b) ¶1. (SBU) During a February 10 lunch with six other chiefs of mission, talk of the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review of Cuba segued into a discussion of the EU's efforts to promote human rights in Cuba. The EU's decision in June 2008 to change its Common Position on Cuba has led to changes in its mission on the ground, notably an agreement to resume EC assistance to Cuba and to expand the staff here. ¶2. (C) EC Chief of Mission Javier Nino noted that there has not been any real progress on human rights in Cuba since June 2008, an evaluation with which no COM (Japan, Czech, India, Turkey, Sweden, U.S.) disagreed. He added that he had been in touch with the Irish Foreign Ministry regarding the upcoming visit of Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin, and had asked whether the Foreign Minister was interested in meeting with representatives of Cuba's civil society. The Foreign Ministry's answer was that the only local Irish NGO interested in Cuba was one fully supportive of the GOC, and thus no civil society meeting was necessary. ¶3. (C) COM asked how the EU would implement the provision in its June 2008 decision that high-level visitors to Cuba would meet with civil society when appropriate if no EU leaders were interested in doing so. EU Commissioner Louis Michel, for example, was well known for not meeting with civil society during his visits to the island. ¶4. (C) Nino's response was that the key phrase in the EU position was "when appropriate." Given that the GOC consistently refuses to meet with any foreign official who meets with members of Cuban civil society, it could be argued that it would never be appropriate to schedule such a meeting for visiting EU member officials. Civil society meetings would be left to EU resident missions instead. COM noted that most EU countries (and others) would not invite civil society representatives to functions out of concern that GOC officials would not attend (the Czech Republic is a notable exception). Czech Charge d'affaires Vit Korselt said that this choice between GOC and civil society keeps high-level Czech officials and politicians from visiting here. No Czech official would be comfortable coming to Cuba without meeting with civil society, and no official would want to visit and not meet with GOC counterparts. ¶5. (C) Turkish ambassador Sanivar Kizildeli asked how the Czech charge was faring in his role as resident President of the EU (the GOC had refused to meet with the Czech Charge for three years prior to his assuming the six-month presidency). Korselt said that meetings with the GOC in that role were proceeding normally, but that the GOC continued to spurn Czech bilateral overtures, including for cultural programs. ¶6. (C) Comment: The EU continues to have difficulty in finding effective means to promote human rights in Cuba. Yesterday's discussion reflects the GOC's consistent (and effective) pressure on the resident diplomatic community to play by its rules. End Comment. FARRAR