Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 1.djvu/122

 104 STAT. 88 PUBLIC LAW 101-246—FEB. 16, 1990 (E) the provision of economic assistance to strengthen and support democratic nations, (b) POLICY. — It is the sense of the Congress that— (1) the proposal offered by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan would further the cause of democracy, freedom, and justice and is in the interest of the United States; and Reports. (2) the President of the United States should give serious consideration to the implementation of the proposal, and should provide by December 31, 1989, a report to the Congress assessing the merits of, and estimated annual costs of, establishing such an Association of Democratic Nations. SEC. 1006. POLICY REGARDING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN CUBA. (a) FINDINGS. —The Congress finds that— (1) the United Nations Commission on Humgin Rights in 1989 issued its first report on human rights in Cuba, the result of a year-long investigation that concluded on the 30th year of Fidel Castro's rise to power; (2) that report extensively documented across-the-board human rights abuses, including cases of torture, missing persons, religious persecution, violations of civil and political rights, and violations of economic and social rights; (3) the United Nations received 137 complaints of "torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment"; (4) among the abuses reported to the United Nations were sensory deprivation, immersion in a pit latrine, mock executions, overcrowding in special cells, deafening loudspeakers, keeping prisoners naked in front of relatives, and forcing a prisoner about to be executed to carry his own coffin or dig his own grave; (5) despite the Cuban Government's statements not to harass those who cooperated with the United Nations' investigation, many Cuban citizens who met, or attempted to meet with the United Nations team suffered reprisals; (6) at least 26 Cuban human rights monitors and independent activists who were arrested in the aftermath of the United Nations investigation are currently serving prison sentences or being held without trial; and (7) the United Nations Commission on Human Rights approved a resolution on March 9, 1989, calling on the Government of Cuba to cooperate with the Secretary General of the United Nations in settling unresolved questions of human rights. (h) STATEMENT OF POLICY. —In the interest of promoting respect for internationaly recognized human rights in Cuba, the Congress— (1) calls on the Secretary General of the United Nations to act upon the resolution approved by the Commission on Human Rights March 9, 1989, calling on the Secretary General to take appropriate action to follow up on the Commission's report on human rights in Cuba; and (2) calls on the Secretary General to specifically urge the Government of Cuba to release at least 26 persons still being held in detention because of their human rights activities.

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