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The Cuban Vice Prime Minister Inés María Chapman Waugh traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, to lead the official Cuban delegation to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on April 23 and 24, and the following day she sang La Guantanamera with Cuban residents in that country under the slogan #CubaNoEstáSola.
Chapman posted images from the meeting with the Cuban community on his Twitter account, which appears to be a Cuban residence or embassy, with around 40-50 people in attendance.
"Emotional and extensive exchange with Cubans and solidarity groups with Cuba in Switzerland. Together we sang Guantanamera. Commitment and love for the homeland, for peace," wrote the official.
Before that event, Chapman had presided over the presentation of the periodic report of Cuba to the CERD, covering the period 2018-2023, in fulfillment of the country's obligations as a State party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination since 1972.
The central focus of the presentation was the National Program against Racism and Racial Discrimination "Color Cubano", approved by the Council of Ministers on November 20, 2019, and led by a governmental commission chaired by Miguel Díaz-Canel, consisting of 18 state agencies and 18 organizations from the so-called civil society.
The Cuban government affirmed before the UN that it has implemented 92% of the recommendations from the 2018 CERD, and presented as an achievement that 45% of the members of the National Assembly are Black or mixed-race, compared to 41% in 2018.
The delegation also included representatives from the Supreme People's Tribunal, the Attorney General's Office, and the Ministries of Education, Health, Culture, and Foreign Affairs.
Chapman acknowledged before the Committee the limitations in the statistical information systems and the need to enhance public awareness regarding the mechanisms for reporting racial discrimination.
The regime took advantage of the international forum to blame the U.S. embargo for the obstacles to development, describing it as a "massive, blatant, and systematic violation of human rights," according to the official position presented to the CERD.
The image projected by the government contrasts with the data from independent organizations. According to Prisoners Defenders, of the 1,155 political prisoners recorded in Cuba at the end of April 2025, 843 —73%— are Afro-descendants, despite this group representing only 33.7% of the population.
The alternative report by Cubalex for the 2026 CERD criticizes the "Color Cubano" program for methodological flaws, underreporting of complaints, and an approach that ignores structural historical inequalities.
Moreover, analyses of the sentences from July 11, 2021, reveal that Afro-descendants receive higher average sentences for sedition: 13.63 years compared to 12.61 years for non-Afro-descendants.
The Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alonso Grau, admitted in 2024 that racist expressions persist and are increasing in the context of the economic crisis being faced by the island.
Cuba announced before the CERD a public consultation to update the "Color Cubano" program in preparation for 2027, while the gap between the official discourse and the reality documented by independent organizations remains, according to those same reports, deep and structural.
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