The United States released its latest annual report on human rights in the world this Tuesday, a document in which it ignores its internal problems and expresses concern about what is happening in other countries like Cuba.
The National Urban League (NUL) released a report just a day earlier on the situation of black people in the United States in 2022, and its conclusions reflected inequality and systemic racism in the North American country.
The NUL states that, without considering issues related to police violence, the Afro population is disadvantaged in aspects such as economic income, which is 37 percent lower compared to whites, and are less likely to benefit from a home . owned.
On the other hand, abortion restrictions enacted in several states and legislation in some twenty territories making it difficult for minorities to vote, threaten the reproductive and political rights of a section of the US population.
Additionally, the United States is the only advanced economy on the planet that does not consider legally guaranteed sick leave or vacations, and is the least developed country in terms of workers’ rights, according to the International Trade Union Confederation.
Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch, which is highly critical of governments, documented backlash on the most basic civil rights on North American territory, including racial issues, attitudes toward immigration, and the elimination of environmental and public health protections.
Given examples like the ones above—though there are many others, even in the context of Washington’s foreign policy—is it worth asking whether the United States can be the arbiter of human rights in the world?
The text, prepared by the State Department, ranks other countries as “good or bad” according to their own guidelines.
The voluminous report, corresponding to fiscal 2021, is the second to be released by the Joe Biden administration and, like last year, it disapproves of Cuba’s stance but ignores that it has maintained a blockade of the Island economy has imposed , commercially and financially.
The Cuban government reiterated that the unilateral fence is the biggest violation of human rights in the Caribbean country and the main obstacle to its economic development.
The island’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, affirmed that the United States lies to justify the criminal blockade measures that violate the human rights of the Cuban people.
“Cuba’s project for social justice and international solidarity is a benchmark for the protection and promotion of human rights,” Rodríguez wrote on Twitter.
The section of the US report devoted to Cuba refers to the riots of July 11, 2021, when, according to Cuban authorities, hundreds of people took to the streets of the island, encouraged from abroad.
According to Havana, these protests – amid a tense situation caused by Covid-19 and the economic blockade – included acts of violence and were part of a Washington-sponsored campaign to promote regime change in the Caribbean nation.
In its text, the US government points to alleged violations of the rights of the defendants because of their involvement in the riots to institute a judicial process that respects the guarantees of the detainees and the laws of the country, their families and authorities of the judicial system relatives.
The northern government described Cuba as an “authoritarian state” due to the existence of a single political force (the Communist Party) and its electoral system, both points enshrined in the republic’s constitution, which was approved by a majority of Cubans in 2019.
US State Department Deputy Director Johana Tablada said the Washington-led and funded disinformation campaign does not address the actual human rights situation on the island.
The diplomat called it discredit for the US government to promote a fraudulent policy that squanders millions in a large-scale disinformation campaign against Cuba, its people, health care system and legitimate sources of income.