THE SOCIETY ELIÁN WOULD GO BACK TO IN CUBA:
“NON-RIGHTS” OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AS PER CUBA’S LAWS

By Maria C. Werlau - April 5, 2000

 CUBA’S CONSTITUTION
Constitución de la República de Cuba of 1976, amended August 1, 1992

   Cuba’s Constitution http://www2.cuba.cu/gobierno/consti.htm defines the State’s and society’s goals as the building of socialism with the ultimate objective of establishing a communist society, under the leadership of the Communist Party.  Its Article 3 declares that “all citizens have the right to fight, by all means -including armed, against any person who seeks to defeat the political, social and economic order established by this Constitution.”  Some of its articles on the rights of parents to determine how their children are to be raised and educated: 

•     Art.  38: Assigns parents the "duty" to "actively contribute to their children's education and integral formation as useful citizens prepared for life in a socialist society." 

•     Art. 39:  Establishes state control over culture and education sustained on "Marxist ideals" and for the communist formation of children and adults. It specifically declares that artistic creation is “free” as long as its contents “are not contrary to the Revolution.”

•      Art. 62: Criminalizes opposition to the edicts of the Constitution:  "No rights granted by this Constitution and the laws can be exercised against the existence of and objectives of the communist state.  The infraction of this article is punishable."

THE CODE OF CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH

Código de la Niñez y la Juventud, Law No. 16 of June 28, 1978

This 23-page long code http://www.lanuevacuba.com/codigo1.htm is “binding for all minors, their parents and teachers” and “supersedes all other laws and regulations which might be contrary to its dictates.”  Some of its decrees are:

Art. 3: "The communist formation of the young generation is a valued aspiration of the State, the family, teachers, political organizations, and mass organizations acting to foster in the youth the ideological values of communism." 

Art. 5: Society and the State watch to make sure that "all persons who come in contact with child and youth in their educational process constitute an example for the development of a communist personality and stimulates citizens to obtain merits in performing this task." 

Art. 8: The society and the State "work for the effective protection of youth against any influence contrary to their communist formation." 

Art. 9:  "Educators have a crucial mission in the formation of the communist personality. They must be carefully selected, well prepared and capable of teaching by example.”

Art. 10:  It is the duty of the working class … to educate the new generations in communist ways.”

Art. 20: “The school is the basic educational institution, contributing decisively in the communist formation of those schooled.” 

Art. 23: "Upon completion of primary schooling, young people may continue their education at pre-university centers, vocational schools, or other specialized schools, on the basis of their academic achievement, political attitude and social conduct."

Art. 33: “The State grants special attention to the instruction of Marxist-Leninism due to its importance in the ideological formation and the political culture of the country’s young students.”

Art. 40: “The formation of vocational interests in children, from their pre-school education to secondary education, constitutes a basic foundation in the adequate orientation towards the professions the country demands.”

Art. 43: “Every young person is obligated to employ his/her creative capacity, aptitudes and knowledge in benefit of the New Society.”

Art. 68: Prescribes that children and young people prepare for military education and active military service by subscribing to "principles of proletarian internationalism and combative solidarity."

Art. 83: “State cultural entities give special attention to the professional and ideological formation of the young…”

Art. 83: State entities for culture ensure that “the artistic creation encouraged in children and youth is one that expresses the revolutionary vision of the world, fraternity, human solidarity, the internationalist spirit and love for the ideals of the working class.”

Art. 90: “The promotion of athletes to higher categories takes into account not only their athletic achievements but also their social and political attitude.”

Art. 101: “The State’s entities maintain appropriate relations with the Union of Communist Youth, mass organizations and other social factors linked to them, for the purpose of sustaining a coordinated effort in the development of children and youth.”

    The U.S. State Department’s Cuba Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1999 (See http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/), eloquently documents how Cuba’s families and children are systematically deprived of fundamental rights and are subject to rampant interference and social controls from the State.  See, for example, Sec. 1: Respect for the integrity of the person, including freedom from f) arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence.  Section 6(c) on the prohibition of forced or compulsory labor, documents the Cuban government’s requirement that children “work without compensation.” It states: “All students over age 11 are expected to devote 30 to 45 days of their summer vacation to farm work, laboring up to 8 hours per day." 

      Cuban citizens -adults and children alike- are also deprived, by law and in practice, of other fundamental and universally recognized human rights, counting freedom of expression (including an independent, free, press), association (including independent labor unions) and the right to own property. These systematic and pervasive violations are extensively documented by all major international human rights organizations as well as by the  above-cited U.S. government report.

Author’s note:  All translations and italics are of sole  responsibility of the author.  Some background information for this document was taken from Alberto Luzárraga, “Cuban and International Law and the return of Elián to his father”, of recent authorship.

Maria C. Werlau is President of Orbis International Consulting of Chatham, New Jersey. Aside from her business, she is involved in academic research and writing on the Cuban economy and does extensive pro bono work to advance democracy and human rights in Cuba.  For more information, please contact  XORBISX@AOL.COM or (973)701-0520.