Hypocrisy on Cuba

Posted on Tue, Nov. 14, 2006

Hypocrisy on Cuba
Our opinion: U.N. vote on embargo an insult to political prisoners.

Now and then, the insufferable hypocrisy that pervades international
policy toward Cuba becomes undeniably evident. One such moment occurred
last week when the U.N. General Assembly voted 183-4 with one abstention
to condemn the U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba.

This annual ritual has become an absurd farce that allows U.N. members
to protest U.S. foreign policy in a meaningless vote. It has nothing to
do with sound diplomacy, common sense or moral judgment. But in its
anti-U.S. zeal, the assembly this year also managed to insult Cuban
political prisoners. For that it deserves a kick in the pants.

The issue was an Australian amendment calling on the Castro government
to free political prisoners and respect human rights. The proposal lost
by a vote of 126-51 with five abstentions.

There's room for argument over the embargo. But surely a call for the
Cuban government to ''respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and comply fully with its obligations'' under human rights treaties
should be a no-brainer.

Cuba always refuses to cooperate with U.N. human rights resolutions and
ranks among the worst human rights violators in the world. U.N. human
rights monitors have been among Cuba's sharpest critics.

The vote against the Australian amendment is proof that this annual U.N.
vote on Cuba is simply a vehicle to blow off some steam against U.S.
foreign policy in general. It's not really about the embargo, nor can
the Castro regime derive any comfort from it.

Now, Oswaldo Payá, the Cuban human rights campaigner, has launched a
drive urging the U.N. Human Rights Council to demand that Cuba release
all political prisoners. Mr. Payá is a brave man. He deserves U.N.
support lest hypocrisy once again is allowed to prevail over courage and
decency.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/16005928.htm