US sanctions in Cuba worsening human rights situation: EU envoy

A special European Union envoy Eamon Gilmore said on Friday that US sanctions are worsening the human rights situation in Cuba while reiterating the EU’s call on the communist-led government to release individuals detained during the mass protests in July 2021. During bilateral talks held over two days with top officials in Havana, discussions covered various aspects, including social and economic rights, as well as civil and political rights such as freedom of expression and the right to assembly or protest. Gilmore while talking to the media, highlighted that the US sanctions on Cuba, which significantly restrict financial transactions, tourism, and trade, have evident impacts on Cuba’s economy and society. He emphasized that these sanctions are adversely affecting the human rights situation by causing harm to people on the ground. The people who are impacted are ordinary Cuban citizens who have difficulty accessing food, and medicines," Gilmore told reporters before departing Havana late on Friday following a packed agenda of meetings. “That’s why the European Union, when we do impose sanctions, we target the sanctions at individuals and entities that abuse human rights, rather than at general populations.“The US says sanctions are necessary to hold the Cuban government accountable for rights violations and that it makes exceptions for humanitarian purposes and programs to support the Cuban people and private sector. Gilmore said Cuba had made some progress on women’s rights and gender equality, but doubled down on the bloc’s previous criticisms of Cuba’s handling of protests in 2021, the largest since former leader Fidel Castro’s 1959 Revolution. The United States and the European Union have both critiqued Cuba’s response to those protests as repressive and heavy-handed. Rights groups say around 1,000 Cubans were jailed for their political beliefs following the demonstrations and several subsequent protests. Gilmore, who said he met Cubans ranging from President Miguel Diaz-Canel to relatives of jailed protesters, declined to comment on whether he had discussed a potential prisoner amnesty with Cuban officials. “I don’t want to get into the detail of what we talked about in terms of the prisoners, other than to say the European Union has a long-standing call for the release of prisoners,” he told reporters. Cuba denies it holds political prisoners and says those detained are guilty of assault, vandalism and sedition, among other crimes. Tensions around the issue flared just days before Gilmore’s arrival after a prisoner died this week in Cuba, prompting a rebuke from the US embassy, which said it was “outraged” by the detainee’s death. Gilmore said Cuban officials had provided some details to the EU delegation about the case, adding that there is “an investigation underway and we will know the results in due course. “Gilmore’s visit to Cuba, which concluded with a formal dialogue on Friday with top Cuban officials on human rights, is a stipulation of a 2016 political and cooperation agreement between the bloc and the Caribbean island nation. Gilmore described the European Union’s relationship with Cuba as “constructive but critical.”