PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

To be considered a transition government in Cuba, a government must meet several clear requirements. It must legalize all political activity, free all political prisoners, and allow international human rights groups to inspect prisons. It must abolish the State Security Department and related groups. It must promise free and fair elections within no more than 18 months, with multiple independent parties given equal access to media and supervised by international observers such as the Organization of American States or the United Nations. It must stop interfering with Radio Martí and Television Martí broadcasts, create an independent judiciary, respect human rights in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, allow independent trade unions and civic groups, exclude Fidel Castro and Raul Castro from leadership, and ensure aid can reach the Cuban people quickly. The President will also look at other factors. These include whether the government is clearly moving from a communist dictatorship to representative democracy; is protecting free speech and press and allowing private media; is restoring citizenship to Cuban-born returnees; is assuring private property; is returning or compensating United States citizens (and entities 50 percent or more owned by U.S. citizens) for property taken on or after January 1, 1959; has handed over to the U.S. people wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice; and has allowed independent international human rights monitors to operate across Cuba.

Title 22, §6065

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Requirements

For the purposes of this chapter, a transition government in Cuba is a government that—

(1)has legalized all political activity;

(2)has released all political prisoners and allowed for investigations of Cuban prisons by appropriate international human rights organizations;

(3)has dissolved the present Department of State Security in the Cuban Ministry of the Interior, including the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution and the Rapid Response Brigades; and

(4)has made public commitments to organizing free and fair elections for a new government—

(A)to be held in a timely manner within a period not to exceed 18 months after the transition government assumes power;

(B)with the participation of multiple independent political parties that have full access to the media on an equal basis, including (in the case of radio, television, or other telecommunications media) in terms of allotments of time for such access and the times of day such allotments are given; and

(C)to be conducted under the supervision of internationally recognized observers, such as the Organization of American States, the United Nations, and other election monitors;

(5)has ceased any interference with Radio Marti or Television Marti broadcasts;

(6)makes public commitments to and is making demonstrable progress in—

(A)establishing an independent judiciary;

(B)respecting internationally recognized human rights and basic freedoms as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which Cuba is a signatory nation;

(C)allowing the establishment of independent trade unions as set forth in conventions 87 and 98 of the International Labor Organization, and allowing the establishment of independent social, economic, and political associations;

(7)does not include Fidel Castro or Raul Castro; and

(8)has given adequate assurances that it will allow the speedy and efficient distribution of assistance to the Cuban people.

(b)Additional factors

In addition to the requirements in subsection (a), in determining whether a transition government in Cuba is in power, the President shall take into account the extent to which that government—

(1)is demonstrably in transition from a communist totalitarian dictatorship to representative democracy;

(2)has made public commitments to, and is making demonstrable progress in—

(A)effectively guaranteeing the rights of free speech and freedom of the press, including granting permits to privately owned media and telecommunications companies to operate in Cuba;

(B)permitting the reinstatement of citizenship to Cuban-born persons returning to Cuba;

(C)assuring the right to private property; and

(D)taking appropriate steps to return to United States citizens (and entities which are 50 percent or more beneficially owned by United States citizens) property taken by the Cuban Government from such citizens and entities on or after January 1, 1959, or to provide equitable compensation to such citizens and entities for such property;

(3)has extradited or otherwise rendered to the United States all persons sought by the United States Department of Justice for crimes committed in the United States; and

(4)has permitted the deployment throughout Cuba of independent and unfettered international human rights monitors.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 104–114, Mar. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 785, known as the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 6021 of this title and Tables.

§6065 Requirements and Factors for Determining Transition Government