Liberal International convening from November 9-11th 2006 in Marrakech, Morocco,
The Congress:
recalls the concerns and distress expressed by Liberal International for several years about a lack of democracy in Cuba under the communist regime;
believes that the situation for human rights in Cuba has deteriorated since the last Congress of the Liberal International. According to the Cuban Commissioner for Human Rights and National Reconciliation an additional 47 dissidents have been sent to prison between July 2005 and July 2006
deprecates profoundly that prominent Cuban Liberals such as Héctor Maseda Gutiérrez, president of Partido Liberal de Cuba, PLC, and Adolfo Fernández Sainz, secretary of international relations, of Partido Solidaridad Democrática, PSD, are still in prison since the spring of 2003, as both organisations are members of the Liberal International
considers that the Cuban authorities have aggravated the harassment of non-violent members of the opposition, especially through the so-called Acts of Repudiation that are being organised regularly outside their homes, and which include the use of physical violence;
understands that the political changes in Cuba will come given the wish of the Cuban people to fight for the democratisation of the country, a process which could be accelerated by the deterioration of the health of Fidel Castro;
is of the conviction that political change should not come as a surprise to the free world and these countries should be prepared to assist with the democratisation process as much as possible;
believes that all democratic countries with the strong involvement of the European Union, in alliance with the Americas, should provide support to assist with Cuban democratisation not only to make it swift and successful but also as painless as possible for Cuban citizens;
provide assistance from our experiences for the birth of democratic political organisations and non-governmental organisations within Cuba, ensuring their development and success of their own self-determination;
proposes that the experiences of the transition in Central and Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall should be examined and adapted to work for Cuban democratisation;
is aware of the enormous challenges in realising a market economy, human rights, civil liberties, freedom of speech, multi-party democracy, and checks and balances in power, including an independent judiciary: these being the core values of democracy, which Cubans have been deprived of for decades, must be resolved in order to achieve a successful liberal democratic government;
trusts that liberal forces in Cuba will take a leading role in this very hard but challenging and rewarding process; and
hopes the political transition will happen soon;
recognises the validity of, and reiterates its support to, the proposals and statements in the LI executive committee resolution on Cuba adopted in Mallorca in November 2005;
calls on the European Union to anchor its policy towards Cuba in the heart of the Cuban Democratic and civic movement inside and outside the island, offering it more legitimacy for its democratising efforts;
calls on the newly established Human Rights Council of the United Nations, of which Cuba is a member, to put high attention to the abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba, and, based on that, reconsiders the appropriateness of Cuba being a member of such an honourable institution.
