Going Down the Rabbit Hole of the UNHRC’s Universal Review Process

Even in Latin America, a region often thought to share the same democratic orientation and values of the U.S. and Europe, there are some striking differences among groups of countries regarding supporting norms and practices on human rights internationally, with some countries lining up more with autocratic countries of the Global South.

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Postcard from Cuba

Cuba is experiencing a wave of U.S. “unofficial” tourism. Even as the hidebound communist regimes claims it isn’t looking for U.S. investment, the contact with tourists and U.S. communications are changing Cuba from the bottom up.

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Promoviendo derechos humanos en Cuba: la odisea de Hablemos Press

Ser un periodista es peligroso en varias partes de Latinoamérica. La mayoría de los corresponsales de Talking Press, una de las pocas agencias independientes de noticias en Cuba, han pasado tiempo en prisión, o han sido víctimas de agresiones por parte del gobierno. Los periodistas saben que por culpa de su oficio se están arriesgado diariamente a ello, o a cosas peores inclusive.

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Using and Losing Leverage in U.S.-Cuban Relations

For the first time since 1960s, the United States has leverage over Cuba. Now President Obama is cleverly playing off the Republic congressional critics of his policy to encourage the Cuban regime to change if it really wants to embargo lifted.

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What Cuban Jews and Pope Francis can tell us about the promise of change in Cuba

Despite the shrinking size of their community over the years due to emigration, Cuba’s remaining Jews have done their best to sustain their ritual and community spaces. Reforms in the 1990s allowed outsiders to visit on religious grounds, including visits, cultural exchanges and support from American Jews. As small as the Cuban community is today, it was, and is, sustained in many ways by the support of those abroad. Their story points to the importance of contact across borders—embodied in the recent U.S.-Cuba changes—and how it builds and sustains the values of tolerance and pluralism.

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Preview of UNHRC 30 and predictions on how Latin American countries will vote

The United Nations Human Rights Council opened this week, and on its agenda are the heated topics of Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Syria. The region has historically split in votes on these issues, with a majority, led by Argentina and Brazil, supporting the protection of human rights. On the other side, Cuba and Venezuela have helped to lead the movement to prioritize national sovereignty over the human rights.

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