Cuba: “Zero Tolerance” to injustice
Lissy Rodríguez
For
the Cuban State and civil society, crimes related to
people trafficking and other forms of sexual abuse
are of maximum priority, and confronted with policy
of “Zero Tolerance,” according to the second report
presented on November 18, on the legal actions and
structures to combat these phenomena, published on
the Ministry of Foreign Relations official website,
Cubaminrex.
The Attorney General of the Republic and Peoples´
Court, a group of organisms affiliated with the
Central State Administration, in addition to
non-governmental organizations such as the
Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) and National Center
for Sex Education (Cenesex), play a key role in this
effort.
The text noted that in 2013 Cuba provided protection
to 2,231 girls and boys, victims of alleged acts of
sexual abuse, 0.09% of a population of over 2
million children. In the same year the media
contributed to the promotion of information
regarding sexual health such as “the development of
healthy sexuality for all citizens and against the
objectification women, girls and boys.”
In addition, the document highlighted the more than
60 projects developed with the United Nations
Children’s Fund, and various forums in which the
country participated, such as the Third Commission
of the UN General Assembly, the Human Rights Council
and the
Commission on
Crime Prevention
and
Criminal Justice.
These are just some of examples of the many action
and measure taken by the State to “increase
prevention, strengthen confrontation, severely
punish the authors, and offer protection to
victims,” noted the report, which also highlighted
the increased collaboration between the State and
diverse international legal instruments relating to
the issue.
Working groups affiliated with the Department of
Minors of the Ministry of the Interior, carried out
more than 55,000 child protection actions related to
advice; training; legal and educational guidance for
parents; family dynamics; conflict mediation;
referrals to medical, psychological and psychiatric
care systems; and other legal processes.
In combating the crime of violence against women in
all its forms, the report highlighted the work of
the FMC, an organization with more than 50,000
voluntary social workers across the entire country
and 174 Women and Family Refuge Centers. In addition
it performs community work supporting State
institutions responsible for caring for victims and
legal administration.
Among the instruments signed by Cuba on the issue of
combating people trafficking and child protection,
cited by the document are the Convention of the
Rights of the Child (1990), the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (1981), and the Hague
Convention on Protection
of Children and
Cooperation in regards to
International Adoption
(1993).
Given the indicators relating to social care and
citizen safety, free healthcare and education and
universal access to culture, sports and recreation,
as well as appropriate legal instruments to combat
people trafficking and other forms of sexual abuse,
Cuba is in a favorable position to enhance and
continue organizing preventative and confrontational
actions to these phenomena.
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