©Reuters. Eamon Gilmore, European Union Special Representative for Human Rights, speaks during a meeting with Cuban authorities in Havana, Cuba, November 24, 2023.Reuters/Alexandre Meneghini
Written by Dave Sherwood
HAVANA (Reuters) – The European Union’s envoy said on Friday that U.S. sanctions were worsening the human rights situation in Cuba, against the communist regime detained during mass protests in July 2021. He reiterated the EU’s call for the release of prisoners of war.
Eamon Gilmore, the EU’s special envoy for human rights, said his two-day bilateral meeting with senior government officials in Havana focused not only on social and economic rights, but also on civil and political issues such as freedom of expression and the right to assembly and protest. He also said that his rights were violated.
Gilmore told reporters that U.S. sanctions against Cuba, which have severely curtailed financial transactions, tourism and trade, are having a clear impact on Cuba’s economy and society.
“The human rights situation is deteriorating because it is harming people on the ground. Those affected are ordinary Cubans who have difficulty accessing food and medicine,” Gilmore said. He spoke to reporters before departing from Havana late Friday after completing the agenda of the meeting.
“That is why when the European Union imposes sanctions, it targets individuals and entities that violate human rights, not ordinary people.”
The United States maintains that sanctions are necessary to hold the Cuban government accountable for rights violations, with exceptions for humanitarian purposes and programs supporting the Cuban people and the private sector.
Gilmore said Cuba has made some progress on women’s rights and gender equality, but he expressed concern over Cuba’s response to the 2021 protests, the largest since former leader Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution. This doubled down on the EU’s previous criticism.
Both the United States and the European Union have criticized Cuba’s response to these protests as repressive and coercive. Human rights groups say about 1,000 Cubans have been jailed for their political beliefs following the demonstrations and several subsequent protests.
Gilmore said he had met with Cubans ranging from President Miguel Diaz-Canel to relatives of imprisoned protesters, but declined to comment on whether he had discussed the possibility of pardoning prisoners with Cuban officials. Rejected.
“I don’t want to go into the details of what we discussed regarding the prisoners, but I just said that the European Union has been calling for the release of the prisoners for many years,” he told reporters.
Cuba denies holding political prisoners and says those detained are guilty of crimes including assault, vandalism and incitement.
Tensions over the issue escalated in the days before Gilmore’s arrival following the death of a prisoner in Cuba this week, with the US embassy calling it “outraged” by the detainee’s death.
Gilmore said Cuban officials had provided some details about the incident to the EU delegation, adding: “The investigation is ongoing and we will know the outcome in due course.”
Mr. Gilmore’s visit to Cuba ended on Friday with a formal dialogue on human rights issues with Cuban government officials, a provision of the 2016 political and cooperation agreement between Cuba and the Caribbean island nation.
Gilmore described the relationship between the European Union and Cuba as “constructive but important.”