Tomoya Obokata, UN Special Rapporteur on Modern Slavery, responds to Cuba's communist regime with evidence that Cuba sells its citizens to countries such as Spain, Italy, Ghana and Qatar for labor exploitation I asked. letter The human rights group Prisoners Defenders made the announcement on Tuesday.
Prisoners Defenders is a European-based NGO focused on the record of human rights violations in Cuba.that It has been submitted A complaint filed with the United Nations against Cuba in 2019 accuses the Castro regime of selling a wealth of medical workers, athletes, artists and workers into slavery to a long list of countries around the world. The evidence is shown. Cuba's medical slavery, which forces doctors often under duress and with little information about their destination, is one of the communist regime's most lucrative industries. network as Much the same as the It has been running for 65 years, generating $11 billion a year in profits for the impoverished country's government.
About 100 Cuban doctors follow the steps of the induction program at the Kenya Government Graduate School in Nairobi on June 11, 2018. (Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images)
Cuban health workers trapped in this industry have had large portions of their salaries confiscated, lost the right to free movement and travel, and are unable to see their families or form friendships or romantic relationships with locals. , are often forced to work in dangerous locations. Two Cuban doctors, Randy Rodríguez Hernández and Asser Herrera Correa, were abducted by the Sunni jihadist terrorist group al-Shabab and forced into forced labor in Kenya. remain Almost five years have passed since her disappearance in 2019, and her whereabouts are unknown at the time of writing this article.
The international legal definition of slavery laid out in the 1926 Slavery Convention is: I will explain It is “the status or condition of a person in which some or all of the powers incident to ownership are exercised.”united nations I will consider Modern slavery is treated as a broad category of violations that includes 'forced labor' and 'human trafficking'. The UN letter to Cuba mentions possible violations of “forced labor” restrictions.
A farewell ceremony by Cuban doctors as they prepare to depart for Italy to fight the coronavirus pandemic, Sunday, April 12, 2020, in Havana, Cuba. (AP Photo/Ismael Francisco)
Prisoners Defenders is the Special Rapporteur on Slavery regarding the Cuban slave trade, in addition to several other United Nations offices, including the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. stimulated. However, the UN Human Rights Council is controlled by a repressive dictatorship and has made no effort to address this issue or the many other human rights abuses committed by the Castro regime on a daily basis. member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Obokata's letter, sent to Cuba's president in November and published by prisoner advocacy groups on Tuesday, is persuasive enough for U.N. officials to say the accusations and evidence require a response from the country in question. It shows that you think that. Obokata gave the Cuban government 60 days to respond, but 60 days have passed since the letter was sent without any public comment or response from Cuba, Qatar, Italy, Spain, or any other countries involved.
The Qatari government, which has a rich history of involvement in slavery in recent years, has been accused of being a prominent collaborator with Havana in enslaving Cubans.
“In Qatar, Cuban medical personnel – doctors, nurses and technicians related to health care – do not receive labor contracts… only 10 percent.” [of salaries] It will be handed over to medical personnel,” Obokata wrote, listing the allegations against Cuba. “As a result, Cuban health workers will no longer be paid enough to live a dignified life in Qatar.”
Cuban slaves in Qatar, most of whom are believed to be medical workers, work about 64 hours a week, Obokata wrote.
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Obokata said that in addition to not being allowed to see their labor contracts and losing 90% of their wages, Cuban workers in Qatar have their passports immediately confiscated at Doha airport and are “often unable to travel to their destination or “I don't have accurate information about it,” he wrote. Go to “work” before arriving.
Workers in Qatar and other countries collaborating with the Castro regime are also reportedly losing their right to a private life. A worker must “report any romantic relationship with a Cuban or foreigner to her immediate supervisor,” as well as seek permission from her supervisor to get married or visit family or friends. Because they have no choice in what they do or where they go during the little vacation they are given, and no freedom to hold political or other opinions, the Castro regime has a vague “moral” code. This is seen as a violation of the law.
“Other complaints received refer to constant vigilance by Cuban officials and other workers to press personal and political questions to experts,” Obokata narrated. You will not be allowed to receive visits from family or friends or sleep outside your allocated space without prior permission. ”
In addition to Qatar, the letter accused Spain of similarly exploiting “athletes, artists, musicians, dancers, and other Cuban professionals…through Cuban companies that withhold large portions of their salaries.” Italy, Saudi Arabia, Ghana and Seychelles were also named on the list of people accused of collaborating with the Castro regime.
The letter also states that Cuba forces enslaved Cuban women abroad to give birth in Cuba, prohibits Cuban citizens from seeking to emigrate abroad, and subjects enslaved workers in host countries to “sexual violence.” '' and accused them of subjecting them to “physical violence.'' The report also found that many workers “voluntarily joined” foreign communist “missions,” either directly forced upon them by the Castro regime or due to widespread poverty, which was universal except for Communist Party officials. He also pointed to evidence that “there is no such thing.” The government imposes itself on the people.
Obokata stated that the purpose of the letter was to heighten “concerns about the alleged violation of fundamental human rights,” and acknowledged that he was “fully aware.”[d] the value of Cuba's cooperation and the important contributions made in health care in many countries around the world; ”
“Although the letter has been made public, we have not received a response from the relevant countries within the 60-day deadline,'' the prisoner's lawyers say. observed on tuesday. “Had these responses arrived, they would have been published by the United Nations. But as of January 2, 2024, this is not the case.”
