Normalization of U.S. relations with Cuba was widely seen as exactly the kind of high-value, low-hanging fruit that would be ideal for a president elected under the banner of "change." But a scathing new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "New Castro, Same Cuba," will make lifting sanctions against the Castro regime-on travel, remittances, trade-more difficult for President Obama.
In a crucial vote this week, the Organization of American States could decide whether to lift Cuba's almost 50-year suspension from the key regional body. Such a move would be bad for civil society in Cuba and bad for the OAS.
I met Fidel Castro in Havana in 1995 as part of a human rights delegation and, after six gruelling hours of negotiation, gained his commitment to release six political prisoners. We were hardly the first or last visitors to do so. Jesse Jackson convinced Mr Castro to release 26 political prisoners in 1984, Bill Richardson secured the release of three in 1996 and Jimmy Carter's 2002 visit prompted the release of one. The most successful, of course, was Pope John Paul II, who obtained the release of more than 70 jailed dissidents in 1998.
If the Bush administration is still good at anything, it's this: distracting its opponents and seizing little victories from what might have been big defeats.
Among the many injustices Cubans endure today are restrictions on travel that prevent them from reuniting with family members abroad. These restrictions have torn young children away from their parents, destroyed marriages and kept exiles from visiting and caring for their aging or dying parents in Cuba. Cubans may expect such state control over their lives coming from a government that has systematically deprived them of the most basic freedoms for years.
Cuba's membership on the commission was set to expire but renewed for another term on Tuesday when the UN body, meeting in New York, voted on the issue. This is a stark testament to the commission's weakened credibility and degraded membership standards.
NEW YORK -- Few doubt that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights is faltering in its mission. With Libya as its chair, and China, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe among its voting members, it is hardly surprising that many of the world's most flagrant human rights abusers – even those lacking seats on the commission – tend to escape its condemnation.
Normalization of U.S. relations with Cuba was widely seen as exactly the kind of high-value, low-hanging fruit that would be ideal for a president elected under the banner of "change." But a scathing new Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "New Castro, Same Cuba," will make lifting sanctions against the Castro regime-on travel, remittances, trade-more difficult for President Obama.
In a crucial vote this week, the Organization of American States could decide whether to lift Cuba's almost 50-year suspension from the key regional body. Such a move would be bad for civil society in Cuba and bad for the OAS.
I met Fidel Castro in Havana in 1995 as part of a human rights delegation and, after six gruelling hours of negotiation, gained his commitment to release six political prisoners. We were hardly the first or last visitors to do so. Jesse Jackson convinced Mr Castro to release 26 political prisoners in 1984, Bill Richardson secured the release of three in 1996 and Jimmy Carter's 2002 visit prompted the release of one. The most successful, of course, was Pope John Paul II, who obtained the release of more than 70 jailed dissidents in 1998.
If the Bush administration is still good at anything, it's this: distracting its opponents and seizing little victories from what might have been big defeats.
The U.S. stands with Cuba in opposition to the draft resolution establishing a new U.N. Human Rights Council.
Among the many injustices Cubans endure today are restrictions on travel that prevent them from reuniting with family members abroad. These restrictions have torn young children away from their parents, destroyed marriages and kept exiles from visiting and caring for their aging or dying parents in Cuba. Cubans may expect such state control over their lives coming from a government that has systematically deprived them of the most basic freedoms for years.
Cuba's membership on the commission was set to expire but renewed for another term on Tuesday when the UN body, meeting in New York, voted on the issue. This is a stark testament to the commission's weakened credibility and degraded membership standards.
NEW YORK -- Few doubt that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights is faltering in its mission. With Libya as its chair, and China, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe among its voting members, it is hardly surprising that many of the world's most flagrant human rights abusers – even those lacking seats on the commission – tend to escape its condemnation.