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2. Cuba’s voting pattern during its 12 years at the UN Human Rights Council
- Author:
- Brian Schapira and Roxana Perel
- Publication Date:
- 09-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Over the twelve years during which Cuba had a seat at the UN Human Rights Council, the regime has been systematically complicit in the grave human rights violations perpetrated in other parts of the world. This can be inferred from the recorded votes, opposing to resolutions condemning dire human rights violations and calling the world into action. They have been constantly abetting and siding with autocratic governments across the world. In the bid to join the Human Rights Council during the 2021-2023 term, the one-party system stated that «should Cuba be elected to the Human Rights Council, it would continue to support its long-standing initiatives». Global democracies, especially those in Latin America who strive to consolidate the respect for human rights, shall oppose to the candidacy of Cuba and any other autocracies to the Human Rights Council, and they must do so publicly and actively in order to avoid the weakening of the International system for human rights protection.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, United Nations, UN Human Rights Council (HRC), and Human Rights Violations
- Political Geography:
- Cuba and Global Focus
3. China: A hard-line autocracy that loses credibility at an international level
- Author:
- Dorothea Krueger
- Publication Date:
- 08-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- The country report of China in the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) 2020 shows little change for the continent-sized Asian country since the last report of 2018. Structural challenges continued to intensify and the CCP’s single-party leadership does not consider democratic transformation as an objective to be pursued. On the contrary, the administration of President Xi Jinping continued to oppress opponents and dissidents while intensifying ideological indoctrination and surveillance. The deprivation of civil liberties, the concentration of power and the lack of political participation are the main reasons for classifying China in the BTI as a hard-line autocracy. At the same time, the BTI warns that China is becoming increasingly isolated from the world’s liberal democracies and loses their confidence. Human rights violations in so-called “re-education camps”, where it is estimated that more than one million Uyghurs are held, caused widespread criticism among Western democracies and lead to even more concern over China’s candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council elections in October this year.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, United Nations, Authoritarianism, UN Human Rights Council (HRC), Illiberal Democracy, Democratic Decline, and Human Rights Violations
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, and Global Focus
4. BTI and Cuba: the State of democratic denial
- Author:
- Manuel Cuesta Morúa
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Compared with other reports on Cuba, the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) has several noticeable advantages. The first is that it is a comprehensive report, embedded in three pillars: economics, politics and governance. The second is that it captures trends, whereas more reports are static. The third is that it considers themes through indicators, which most reports ignore. And as it is issued every two years it makes it possible to know the consistency (or lack, thereof) of the transformation and its rhythm. The following up. Has Cuba been transformed in 14 years (2006-2020)? Reading the report, it can be concluded that it has, whilst a new concept is introduced: that of static transformation –a sample of changes that leave the structures of a society intact.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Governance, Authoritarianism, Democracy, Society, and Human Rights Violations
- Political Geography:
- Cuba, Latin America, and Global Focus
5. Human Rights from the International Relations
- Author:
- Alejandro Anaya Muñoz
- Publication Date:
- 05-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Human rights are a very important area in contemporary international relations. The doctrine of human rights was concretized after a process of development of more than three centuries after the end of the Second World War and has changed the institutional panorama and the relations between actors at the international level. On the other hand, regardless of its «lack of teeth», the international regime on the subject has transformed the way states relate to international bodies, transnational civil society organizations and other governments.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Civil Society, Human Rights, International Political Economy, International Affairs, and Norms
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
6. Cuba before its third universal periodic review of human rights
- Author:
- Gabriel C. Salvia
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- In the previous review, carried out in 2013, the Cuban government categorically rejected the most relevant recommendations on their human rights violations, which persist today. This can be seen in the most recent Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch reports. From the Southern Cone of South America, it is important for countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay to participate in Cuba’s next Universal Periodic Review (UPR), to stand out for the defense of human rights, which would contribute to their commitment of strengthening democracy in the Latin American region.
- Topic:
- Human Rights and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- South America, Cuba, and Latin America
7. Two reform proposals for membership in the UN human rights council
- Author:
- Gabriel C. Salvia and Matthias Peschke
- Publication Date:
- 04-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- The biggest problem the UN is facing when defending Human Rights is that only a minority of its 193 members have a well-institutionalized democracy. Furthermore, unlike many authoritarian regimes and countries with poor democratic systems, which constitute the majority in the General Assembly, they do not coordinate their policy on human rights with each other. What stood out after analyzing the membership of the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) between 2007 and 2017 was that three countries with a poor record on human rights, namely Saudi Arabia, Cuba and China, in fact, served for the longest time possible. Without question, it is rather unlikely that these dictatorships will contribute to the mission of the UNHRC, which consists of promoting human rights in all member states. However, what is even more concerning is that most countries, which Freedom House considers “Not Free” or “Partly Free”, have stagnated in terms of political and civil liberties while serving as members on the Council. This reaffirms the need to introduce reforms that would tackle its membership problem and render it more efficient.
- Topic:
- Human Rights and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- China, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia
8. Human Rights before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall
- Author:
- Günter Nooke
- Publication Date:
- 11-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Nowadays we certainly cannot take it for granted that our understanding of human rights is accepted throughout the world. On the contrary, that understanding is much more at risk than it was 20 or 30 years ago. This is all the more true when hardly anyone dares to openly address this issue. But the basic approach is actually quite simple: successful human rights policy is about translating a fantastic idea into reality. This idea applies to everyone, regardless of whether they were born in Germany or Switzerland or in China, Zimbabwe, Cuba or North Korea. The political art of human rights policy consists of placing the individual at the heart of all efforts, while at the same time taking into account traditions, culture and religion. This is often particularly difficult when persuasive arguments are put forward by those who consciously disregard human rights for the sake of shoring up their own power.
- Topic:
- Human Rights and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- China, North Korea, Germany, Cuba, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe
9. A Democracy Assembly to Face the New Authoritarian Challenges
- Author:
- Ladan Boroumand
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Sixteen years after the first World Movement Assembly, the situation has dramatically changed. We no longer have the strong wind of triumphant democracy in our sails. Instead, we are facing a reinvigorated wind of authoritarianism that defies us not only in practice but also ideologically and tests our understanding of our own values, our consistency, and our commitment. During the last wave of democratization, civil society emerged as a recognized and legitimate actor on the international stage. If as civil society actors we are being silenced and made irrelevant in our countries, with the help of democratic governments and the global human-rights community we can use the virtual and international stage to reemerge as strong, relevant actors and impose ourselves as our governments’ interlocutors.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Human Rights, Authoritarianism, and Democracy
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Global Focus
10. Global Development - Democracy, Market and Transparency 2011
- Author:
- Gabriel C. Salvia and Hernán Alberro
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Chile heads the regional ranking, rising one position to 15th overall since 2010, overtaking Austria. Uruguay is the second country in the regional ranking and finds itself in 23rd place worldwide. Costa Rica continues its descent, losing five places since 2010 but maintaining its third place in the regional ranking, followed by Panama.
- Topic:
- Development, Human Rights, Markets, Democracy, and Transparency
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Latin America, Syria, Chile, and New Zealand
11. A crisis in the human rights concept in the begining of the 21st century
- Author:
- Yevgeniy Zhovtis
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- Essential human rights principles say that for citizens ‘everything which is not forbidden is allowed’ while for the government ‘everything which is not allowed is forbidden’. But authoritarian states manage to turn these principles upside down both in law and it practice.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Law, Authoritarianism, and Citizenship
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
12. The struggle for a democratic Zimbabwe
- Author:
- Glanis Changachirere
- Publication Date:
- 11-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for the Opening and Development of Latin America (CADAL)
- Abstract:
- The follow up ‘Zimbabwe Youth Civil Society conference’ which we held in June in Zimbabwe under the World Youth Movement for Democracy, led to youth activists, and including activists and representatives from various organizations agreeing to start focusing on building a vibrant movement to fight the country’s common enemy of autocracy before other pertinent issues such as national development. This platform for movement building which was agreed to is the Organizing for Zimbabwe initiative which I totally subscribe to and presents me with another opportunity to fight with all other sectors in the country; to fight for a democratic Zimbabwe, where there is social justice and everyone is deemed equal regardless of their age, gender, geographical orientation, spiritual beliefs among other natural differences.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Human Rights, Democracy, Autocracy, and Activism
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Zimbabwe