Latest on Geneva Mexico to abstain in UN vote on Cuba

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Mexico to abstain in UN vote on Cuba

Stevenson Jacobs, The News Staff - 4/16/2002

Mexico will abstain from a UN vote to condemn Cuba for human rights
violations, but will insist the island nation open its doors to a UN
rights inspector to monitor its progress, the government said Monday.

In a statement released to the media, the Foreign Relations
Secretariat said it would support a Uruguay-sponsored resolution
recognizing Cuba's efforts in "social rights" despite "adverse
international sentiment," a phrase Mexico interpreted as in line with
its long-held opposition to the 40-year-old U.S. economic embargo
against Cuba.

Mexican diplomats are gathered in Geneva this week to participate in
the annual rights evaluation of the UN Human Rights Commission.

"Instead of the condemnation of years past, (the resolution) will
assume a constructive and cooperative focus," read the statement.

The resolution urges Cuba's government to do more to protect human
rights and allow a UN human rights inspector to visit the island to
evaluate its progress, something Cuba has opposed vehemently in the
past.

Last year, 22 nations voted in favor of condemnation, with 20 against
and 10 abstentions, Mexico among them.

Though Mexico has never voted against Cuba, a series of recent
diplomatic rifts has strained the once cozy relationship.

Mexican lawmakers still are fuming over Foreign Relations Secretary
Jorge Castaņeda's refusal to explain the motive behind Fidel Castro's
abrupt exit at last month's UN conference in Monterrey. Castro
accused Castaņeda of pressuring him to leave early at the behest of
the United States, a charge Castaņeda has denied.

Political analysts viewed Castro's move as a pre-emptive strike to
ward off a potential anti-Cuba vote in Geneva.

The bad blood between the former friends began after President
Vicente Fox miffed Castro by meeting with Cuban dissidents during a
February trip to Havana, the first such meeting by a Mexican
president on Cuban soil.

The United States traditionally has been the chief lobbyist in favor
of condemnation, sponsoring initiatives from 1990 to 1998.

The Czech Republic has authored initiatives the last two years, but
Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman told Fox during a visit here last
week his country would refrain from doing so this year. Zeman said
his government didn't want to risk bolstering Fidel Castro's grip on
power through isolation tactics he could use to his advantage.

 
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