For years, Cuba has been included in all kinds of “blacklists” of the US Government. For example, a list of countries that – supposedly – don´t combat “trafficking in persons”. The accusations against Cuba of the Department of State and the Miami organizations financed and sponsored by the White House, generate a large number of headlines in the international press.
On the contrary, if those reports or opinions come from United Nations agencies, information silence is required. This is the case of the statements made by Maria Grazia Giammarinaro, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of victims of Trafficking in Persons, made following her recent visit to the island.
Why have not those reports been news? Because the Rapporteur acknowledged Havana’s “political will” and the strengths of its social system about human trafficking. “I can say that the factors of vulnerability in this country are less significant than in others; I mean factors linked to deep social inequalities or indigence, which is much lower than in other nations”,she said. She also indicated that Cuban citizenship have a “high level of education” and that is the reason why “they know their rights”. She added: “Social services (in Cuba) have a wide coverage, the number of social workers is extremely high relative to the population, therefore there is an opportunity for these social workers to know what happens in the communities and to intervene In the situation, for example, of a child at risk in a difficult family context”.
Thus, the independent expert of the UN Human Rights Council pulverized the accusations of the US Government that, in its report of 2015, continued ensuring that Cuba does not fully comply with “minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons”.
Giammarinaro also described Cuba’s medical cooperation missions around the world as “a good example to follow” by operating “in remote areas where there is no hospital assistance available”. A second setback to the White House, which continues repeating that Cuban medical aid workers are subject to “human trafficking” and “labor slavery” by their government.
It´s truly cynical that successive US governments -and their mass alliesmedia- who accuse Havana of “trafficking in persons”, when it has been its policy of legal privileges that thousands of Cuban migrants, in their attempt to reach to USA, end up being object of “human trafficking” by the mafias that operate in Panama, Mexico or Colombia.
The Rapporteur also made critical contributions to Cuba: she recommended, for example, raising legal protection against child abuse up to 18 years of age, bearing in mind that the age of majority on the island today is 16 years old.
She also highlighted the country’s challenges -that are common to almost all countries in the South- such as cases of trafficking and sexual exploitation of migrants, especially young women who are deceived by signing false employment contracts abroad.
Curiously, this was interesting to bring headlines to the few media whose reflected the words of Maria Grazia Giammarinaro: “UN Rapporteur: Cuba still has a lot to do against trafficking in persons”. No comments.
(Cubainformación)