Watchdog group claims Cuba committed fraud to influence review

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 5, CMC – A Geneva-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that monitors the United Nation’s work on human rights claims that Cuba committed “fraud on a massive scale” to influence a UN review of its human rights.



In its 13-page report, “Massive fraud: The corruption of the 2013 UPR (Universal Periodic Review) of Cuba,” the UN Watch says Cuba used hundreds of “front groups” to submit comments favorable to the Spanish-speaking Caribbean island.



The report says while 454 non-governmental organizations submitted comments for Cuba’s review, 48 NGOs commented on Canada’s — the second highest number of comment.



It says that although “critiques by genuine NGOs do appear, they are overwhelmed by an unprecedented amount of submissions by fraudulent ‘NGOs’ that, if they do exist, are mere puppets of Cuba and its allies abroad.



“This is fraud committed on a massive scale,” claims he report, timed to coincide with Cuba’s review by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) here. The UNHRC audits each nation every four years for its UPR.



“Cuba used hundreds of front groups to hijack the United Nations compilation of NGO submissions and turn it into a propaganda sheet for the Castro Communist regime,” the report adds.



The UPR is not binding on anyone “but does have an impact because it’s a megaphone, a podium, which does shape the way people think and it’s a source of legitimacy,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch and a Canadian lawyer.



During a UNHRC meeting Wednesday on Cuba, Syria and North Korea praised Havana, while Western nations criticized Cuba for its alleged abuses and lack of democracy.



UN Watch says the UPR does not directly challenge the praise heaped by the NGOs on the communist-run island but simply listed some of their favorable comments and some of their names.



Among the NGOs were several organizations controlled by the Cuban Communist Party and government, such as the Federation of Cuban Women, the Federation of University Students and the Pioneers, the island’s politicized version of the Boy Scouts.



UN Watch said many of the NGOs listed in the UPR summary of their comments were based in countries that have friendly relations with Havana and mainly in countries where Cuba has medical, teaching or sports missions.



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