Following is an excerpt from Amnesty International's 2002 report summarizing alleged human rights violations in the Americas, with links to individual country reports . (See full text.) Even if we take these reports at face value, we can see here that Cuba is far from the worst offender. But somehow, the US government feels that only Cuba should be sanctioned. Clearly human rights have nothing to do with the its motives. The report begins (my comments in [ ]'s):
Although the year has seen some positive developments -- especially regarding the struggle against impunity and the use of the death penalty -- the international climate created by the "war on terrorism" declared by President Bush after the 11 September attacks in the USA posed a serious threat to human rights advances region wide.
The 11 September attacks were followed by intense backlash against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent in the USA. Arrests also took place in countries including Paraguay and the Dominican Republic.
In the USA, more than 1,200 people -- mainly non-US nationals -- were detained during investigations into the attacks. The detentions were surrounded by extreme secrecy and there have been reports of incommunicado detention and ill- treatment. Human rights concerns raised by the sweeping "anti-terrorism" legislation passed by Congress were compounded by the establishment by Presidential military order of special military commissions for the trial of non US-nationals suspected of "terrorism". These courts would create a "second class justice system" for foreign nationals as they would expressly flout some of the basic guarantees prevailing in the US justice system.
In December, Canada also passed new anti-terrorism legislation amidst fears that it might undermine the right to a fair trial. New Immigration and Refugee legislation adopted in November could result in people being returned to countries where they may face human rights violations.
Meanwhile, the human rights crisis in Colombia continued to spiral and it is feared that the post-11 September climate will contribute to exacerbate it. Both the army, with their paramilitary allies, and armed opposition groups continued to commit grave human rights violations and abuses, with civilians the principal victims. The year's statistics are chilling: over 300 people "disappeared", more than 4,000 civilians were killed outside combat -- the majority by army-backed paramilitaries -- large numbers of people were displaced and over 1,700 people were kidnapped, mainly by guerrilla groups.
As in previous years, torture and ill-treatment by security forces and in custody continued to be reported in at least 20 countries, including Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Jamaica, Paraguay, Peru, the USA and Venezuela. In countries like Brazil and Mexico the use of torture to extract confessions is often used as a de facto replacement for modern investigation techniques. [No allegations of torture in Cuba]
Unlawful killings by law enforcement agents -- often as a result of excessive use of lethal force -- were recorded in several countries, including Belize, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana, Mexico, the USA and Venezuela. In Brazil, death squads appear to operate in collusion with security forces, and some 481 police killings were reported in São Paulo state alone. In Jamaica, at least 152 people were killed by security forces, include seven young men killed in a house in Braeton in circumstances strongly suggesting extrajudicial executions. In Argentina, dozens of police killings in disputed circumstances were reported and over 30 people were killed during demonstrations at the end of the year, amidst reports of excessive use of force. [No extra-judicial killings in Cuba]
"Disappearances" continued to be widespread in Colombia. Cases were also reported Mexico and Venezuela, and in at least eight other countries families and friends continued living the daily torture of not knowing what happened to their "disappeared" loved ones. [No one "disappeared" in Cuba]
"Prisoners of conscience" were still detained in Argentina, Cuba and Mexico as well as in Peru, where approximately 200 people unjustly convicted of "terrorism" charges are still in prison. 2001 saw the release of two Mexican "prisoners of conscience", environmental activists Rodolfo Montiel and Teodoro Cabrera. However, these releases fell short of full justice as their innocence was not acknowledged and no investigation was opened into their claims of having been tortured. ["Prisoners of conscience" in Argentina, Mexico and Peru--but, strangely, no US sanctions against those countries]
Defending and promoting human rights proved once again to be a life-threatening pursuit, with human rights defenders and activists being the target of harassment, threats and attacks -- sometimes fatal -- in countries including Colombia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica and Nicaragua. In Mexico, human rights lawyer Digna Ochoa y Plácido was killed in her office in October. In Colombia, over 100 trade unionist were killed -- mainly by army-backed paramilitaries -- and 10 journalists were the target of fatal attacks because of their work. Journalists were also threatened and harassed in Guatemala, Mexico and Haiti, where at least one was killed. Government political opponents were targeted in countries including Cuba and Haiti. [Political opponents "targeted" in Cuba, not murdered as elsewhere]
The USA was the only country in the region to carry out executions, including the first two federal executions since 1963. The 66 people put to death in the USA included some with mental impairment and one prisoner who was under 18 at the time of the crime. In a landmark ruling the International Court of Justice found the USA had breached its international obligations by denying German citizens Karl and Walter LaGrand -- executed in 1999 -- their right to communicate with their consulate. Death sentences continued being passed in all the region's retentionist countries, but a halt in executions in Cuba indicated that an informal moratorium is in place.... [No executions in Cuba]
In summary, Amnesty International reports that unlike other countries in the Americas, in Cuba, there are:
And yet Cuba is the target of sanctimonious attacks by the US government in the form of a cruel embargo that even Amnesty International concedes has "increased hardship within Cuba." Where is the justice here?