Cuba: Human Rights (Hansard, 21 June 2004)

§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

The EU and the UK have had a political dialogue with the Cuban Government for many years. Respect for human rights remains the key issue in the EU's relationship of constructive engagement and dialogue with the Cuban Government, as set out in the common position. Following a crackdown on the peaceful opposition in March 2003, the EU—in line with the common position and alongside other international organisations like UNESCO, the UNCHR in Geneva and the Caribbean Community—condemned Cuba's actions and adopted a series of measures that reflected our human rights concerns. These included the inviting to national day receptions, alongside Cuban government representatives, of members of the peaceful opposition and civil society; as is the practice of the EU elsewhere in the world and is the practice of Cuban embassies in EU capitals. Since then the EU has also condemned the Cuban Government for sentencing, in April and May 2004, more human rights activists and journalists for trying to exercise freedom of speech.

The Cuban response to the EU condemnation has been to reject all EU development aid, and to "freeze" contact with EU embassies in Havana. The EU has never cut any communication to Cuban missions in capitals and repeated in its ministerial declaration of 15 June 2004 its readiness to resume the dialogue the Cuban Government terminated. The UK has not cut any bilateral co-operation and indeed has secured new funding for its links with Cuba, for example in scholarships. The UK continues to maintain active programmes of co-operation in areas as diverse as child protection, migration and law enforcement, and encourages trade, tourism, education, sport, science and cultural links between the two countries. We remain committed to dialogue.