Connecting Cuba

Recommendations

To the Cuban government

1. Implement constitutional and legal reforms to ensure full respect for freedom of expression and to allow journalists to work freely without fear of reprisal.
2. Amend the restrictive legal framework that bans privately owned media ownership and ensure freedom of speech and the press in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Cuba is a signatory.
3. Allow the creation of press cooperatives or privately owned media so that journalists are not forced to operate in a legal limbo.
4. Foster an environment that encourages the state press to operate independently and report critically.
5. End the practice of summonses, brief detentions, and harassment of independent journalists.
6. Make internet access more affordable and extend connectivity to the internet without restrictions.
7. Accept the 2015 request by David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, for an invitation to visit Cuba as part of his mandate.

To the Organization of American States

1. Request authorization for the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression to conduct a mission to Cuba to assess the state of press freedom and freedom of expression, and report its findings and recommendations publicly.
2. Ensure any dialogue with Cuba regarding its participation in the multilateral body includes consideration of its press freedom record, including harassment and intimidation of journalists, summonses, and brief detentions.