The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) elected Cuban activist Rosa María Payá as one of its new members on June 27, during the 55th session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS).
Photo: Rosa María Payá Acevedo/Facebook.
We celebrate the recent election of Rosa María Payá Acevedo as Commissioner of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a historic event that marks a turning point for the defense of human rights in the Americas and, especially, for Cuban civil society.
From Cubalex we express our firm support and recognition of his appointment, as well as our outrage at the campaign of verbal attacks and political violence by the Cuban State, which has not only attacked Payá personally, but has also attempted to delegitimize the IACHR and the Inter-American Human Rights System (IACHR).
The Cuban state's reaction, which has labeled Payá a "mercenary" and denounced alleged "pressure and blackmail" from the United States, reveals the regime's deep fear of losing control of the narrative and facing international scrutiny. This response, far from demonstrating disinterest, confirms the importance of the Inter-American Human Rights System (IACHR) for Havana. When a government resorts to defamation as its primary political tool, it highlights the symbolic and practical power of a dissident's presence on a regional human rights body.
The use of the term “mercenary” constitutes a serious legal distortion. In international law, this concept is reserved for very specific situations, such as direct participation in hostilities in exchange for disproportionate remuneration. None of this applies to Payá, a nonviolent activist whose work focuses on making repression in Cuba visible and promoting democratic processes. This label seeks to delegitimize, dehumanize, and symbolically punish her for exercising a public voice. It is not only a defamation strategy but also a form of political and gender-based violence aimed at undermining her leadership.
For Cuban civil society, her election represents a long-awaited victory. For decades, we have resorted to the mechanisms of the Inter-American system to denounce human rights violations in Cuba, frequently encountering slowness, indifference, or selective attention from regional actors. The appointment of a commissioner who knows the workings of the system from within, who has been a petitioner, and who has personally suffered the consequences of a repressive system, opens the door to an IACHR more empathetic, agile and committed to the people who need it most.
The Cuban government's attacks are not limited to Payá, but also seek to delegitimize the IACHR for its decision to investigate the working conditions of Cuban medical missions. These missions have been the subject of systematic denunciations by international bodies, such as the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, who has pointed out possible forced labor practices, Wage withholding, passport confiscation, and surveillance. Far from representing a merely altruistic model, this form of medical cooperation has become a source of income sustained by conditions incompatible with human dignity.
These patterns of control and repression have been exported and imitated by other authoritarian regimes in the region, such as Venezuela and Nicaragua. Over the years, the passivity of the Inter-American system regarding the Cuban case has had a multiplying effect, allowing its methods to be reproduced in other contexts where impunity thrives on the lack of a timely response. The election of Rosa María Payá as commissioner of the IACHR could mark a turning point, breaking with this inertia and promoting stronger and more coordinated responses.
The election of Rosa María Payá to the IACHR strengthens pluralism, revitalizes the Inter-American system's mandate to protect human rights, and constitutes an act of symbolic justice for the many people who have raised their voices against repression in Cuba. Faced with attempts to discredit her, civil society in the region must close ranks, support the Commissioner, and demand that the Cuban state end its campaign of harassment. It is also the responsibility of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the other member states to adopt coherent policies of pressure and accompaniment. The impunity that has prevailed in Cuba for decades has contaminated the entire region; strengthening the Inter-American System of Human Rights is part of the democratic response that our peoples deserve.