COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION CONCLUSIONS ON CUBA

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Council Conclusions on CUBA
(2737 EXTERNAL RELATIONS Council meeting - Luxembourg, 12 June 2006)

The Council adopted the following conclusions:
"1. The Council reaffirmed the relevance and validity of the objectives
of the Common Position
of 1996 and reiterated that a constructive engagement and a critical and
comprehensive dialogue at
all levels remained the basis for the European Union’s policy towards
Cuba. The Council
underlined its determination to pursue a genuine dialogue with the Cuban
authorities as well as with
Cuba’s peaceful political opposition and civil society. Using the
fullest range of its resources
available, the EU will continue to offer to all sectors of society
practical support towards peaceful
change in Cuba.
2. The Council deplores the further deterioration of the human rights
situation in Cuba since
the last evaluation in June 2005.
The Council noted that the number of political prisoners in Cuba had
risen over the past twelve
months according to Cuban human rights organisations to more than 330
documented cases,
including several individuals detained without charge or trial since
2005. In addition, hundreds of
young Cuban citizens had been detained and sentenced under the Penal
Code stipulation of
“propensity to commit a crime”.
The Council once again urged the Cuban government to unconditionally
release all political
prisoners, including the group of 75 who were detained and sentenced in
2003.
3. Of particular concern was the staging since July 2005 of several
dozen acts of violent
harassment and intimidation, including acts of repudiation. The Council
expressed its concern at
reports that some acts of repudiation are taking place with the
collusion of police and security
forces. In any case, the Cuban authorities are not fulfilling their
obligations to protect all citizens.
The Council urgently called on the Government of Cuba to take prompt
action to stop the ongoing
harassment and to undertake every effort to effectively prevent its
resumption.
The Council strongly condemned these acts and other restrictions of
fundamental civil and political
rights which are guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and other international
human rights obligations to which Cuba, as a UN member and signatory of
relevant Declarations, is
party. The Council reminded the Cuban authorities in particular of their
responsibilities regarding
the basic rights of free access to information, freedom of expression,
association and assembly,
privacy and due process of law. The EU will continue to monitor closely
policies of the Cuban
government with respect to human rights.
The Council recalled the commitments required of all members elected to
Human Rights Council to
uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human
rights.
4. The EU would welcome the resumption of a political dialogue with the
Cuban authorities.
This dialogue should include the issue of human rights and take place on
a reciprocal and nondiscriminatory
basis. The Council urged the Cuban government, with a view to promoting a
positive and mutually beneficial dialogue, to show its commitment to
dialogue by making concrete
improvements in the human rights situation. The Council underlined that
every high-level visitor
should raise human rights concerns with the Cuban authorities.
5. The Council expressed concern that the Cuban government had rolled
back reforms leading
to a tentative economic opening. The Council regretted that these
restrictions had further curtailed
the space for private economic initiatives.
The Council underlined that the EU continued to stand ready to provide
development co-operation,
including projects that promote sustainable economic growth and
improvements in the living
standards of the Cuban people.
6. The Council took note of the sixteenth Evaluation of the European
Union Common Position
on Cuba and decided to extend the suspension of diplomatic measures
taken on 5 June 2003 until
the next Evaluation of the Common Position in June 2007.
The Council decided to start working on a mid-and long-term strategy on
Cuba."

http://www.eu2006.at/en/News/Council_Conclusions/1206Cuba.pdf