Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
For months, the U.S. Secretary of State led an aggressive campaign aimed at installing a prominent member on Washington’s payroll—an outspoken supporter of the blockade and aggression against Cuba—as an allegedly impartial human rights expert.
Despite the dignified, courageous, and legitimate stance taken by numerous governments across Latin America and the Caribbean, intense pressure and threats—among them the blackmailing of states with potential cuts to U.S.-funded cooperation programs in the hemisphere—ultimately resulted in the narrow election of the well-known mercenary Ms. Rosa María Payá Acevedo as a Commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
However, the Secretary of State’s efforts, which prioritized whitewashing the candidate’s record, could not erase the shameful past of the newly elected Commissioner. Ms. Payá has supported coups d'état, propagated falsehoods, and promoted military interventions and economic warfare in the region.
As confirmed by the Independent Panel established to assess candidates for the Inter-American Human Rights System, Ms. Payá Acevedo “demonstrated limited knowledge of international human rights law, jurisprudence, or doctrine,” and her political activism “could undermine the appearance of independence in the eyes of a reasonable observer.”
Additionally, the Center for Economic and Policy Research also issued a special report on this candidate, stating that “Ms. Payá’s public record reveals a consistent disregard for human rights and international human rights law” and that she has spread “disinformation about the governments of OAS Member States.”
Driven by an obsessive anti-Cuban agenda and demonstrated contempt for Latin America, the U.S. Secretary of State has succeeded in installing one of his favored operatives to defend coercive policies that are overwhelmingly condemned by the international community.
This situation highlights the urgent need for a profound transformation of hemispheric relations.
At this very moment, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is being weaponized by the U.S. Secretary of State as part of his immoral campaign against Cuba’s international medical cooperation. In an unprecedented and controversial move, he has demanded that all OAS Member States respond to a detailed questionnaire concerning current or past cooperation agreements with Cuba in the field of public health—an action many view as an infringement on national sovereignty.
Cuba reaffirms that it does not and will not recognize any moral or legal authority of the OAS, nor of any of its officials, subsidiary bodies, or autonomous entities.
(Cubaminrex)