UN Rapporteur urges the Cuban regime not to repress protests

Togolese diplomat and jurist Clément Nyaletsossi Voule, UN special rapporteur on freedom of association and peaceful assembly, called on the Cuban regime to respect the right to demonstrate and not repress the people.

In a message posted on

"Authorities must refrain from using illegal force and suppressing protests and should instead facilitate them in accordance with the Model Protocol for law enforcement," Voule stressed.

Likewise, he posted the "Protocol Template for officials to promote and protect Human Rights in the Context of peaceful protests" that he developed for the United Nations and which includes a set of tools based on international human rights laws, norms and good practices, in order to improve capacity and practice of the organizations in fulfilling their duty to promote and protect human rights in the context of peaceful protests.

Since last Sunday, dozens of Cubans in several provinces of the country have been protesting against prolonged power outages, hunger and shortages.

The largest demonstrations began in Santiago de Cuba on Sunday afternoon, on the central Carretera del Morro Avenue and 9th Street in Veguita de Galo. Later, the disturbances spread to the town of El Cobre, where the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Charity, Patroness of Cuba, is located.

The regime has tried to minimize the incident, accusing the United States of the outbreak and arguing that the demonstrations are repressed in many countries while in Cuba they were resolved with a dialogue between the population and public officials.

However, the truth is that dozens of protesters have been arrested. In Santiago de Cuba several people continued protesting on Monday for the release of the detainees.