International Relations Committee of Workers World Party statement on Cuba to UN
TO: U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
FROM: International Relations Committee of Workers World Party
DATE: March 18, 2026
Workers World Party is a socialist organization founded in 1959 with branches across the United States and submits this contribution in support of the 22nd and 26th periodic reports submitted by Cuba under Article 9 of the Convention.
Our leaders and members have traveled to Cuba as part of delegations of workers, educators, health professionals, political organizations and community organizers, to name a few, since the Party’s founding in 1959. During our visits, we have performed volunteer labor in both rural and urban areas working side by side with Cuban workers, farmers, teachers and students.
We have observed the Cuban people in their daily lives and how they have coped with and responded to the severe economic and financial hardships resulting from the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States, giving us firsthand knowledge of the negative impact of these coercive measures on the lives of the Cuban people.
More specifically to this Convention, we have taken part in meetings and conferences organized by the government, by the Workers’ Central Union (CTC), the Cuban Federation of Women (FMC), the Committees to Defend the Revolution (CDRs) and the commissions created specifically to address the issue of racial prejudice. These meetings examined what steps the government has taken to eliminate racial discrimination in all aspects of Cuban society and further how these federations, unions and commissions can contribute to ending all forms of discrimination.
It is noteworthy that the leaders and representatives of these organizations and commissions were often led by Afro-Cubans.
We have noted that the Cuban Constitution and numerous laws codify that all Cubans are equal before the law and shall have the same rights and opportunities without discrimination of any kind, including racial discrimination.
Cuba’s Families Code, which was enacted by a vote of an overwhelming majority of the Cuban people, expanded the definition of the “family” to include any two people who love each other and wish to make a life together. It further guarantees equal rights to all Cubans regardless of race to form families of their own choosing.
Cuba’s labor laws provide that all workers are equal and have the same rights to a safe working environment and equal pay without discrimination. Cuban elections and voting laws provide that all Cubans aged 16 and older can vote, and all Cubans over 18 may run for and hold political office also without regard to race. All Cubans have the legal right to education and to health care without regard to race.
During our visits over the years, we have had the opportunity to witness how these legislative measures have been implemented. For example, we observed local elections in progress and were impressed by the wide participation of Cubans of all ages, races and religions. We observed from the pictures and biographies of the candidates posted in the local offices of the CDRs, as well as speaking to a number of the candidates who came from all walks of Cuban society.
We were especially impressed that school children of all races acted as the guardians of the ballot boxes.
Similarly, during our visits to factories, schools, hospitals and cultural institutions, we observed that Cubans of all races actively participated at all levels of work. We spoke with managers, supervisors, union delegates, Party representatives and floor workers of all races, the vast majority of whom told us that they experience no racial prejudices at their workplace.
And while a few workers expressed experiencing or witnessing incidents of racial discrimination, they believed that the union representatives and Party delegates took their concerns seriously and took immediate steps to correct the situation.
While the legislative provisions prohibiting racial discrimination have been effective in removing institutional racism as a matter of law, the government is aware that because of the vestiges of hundreds of years of colonialism, laws alone cannot eliminate all discrimination among the population.
The government therefore has established a comprehensive system of commissions and working groups to promote these anti-discrimination measures and to protect the human rights of all Cubans. For example, the National Commission Against Racism and Racial Discrimination, established in 2019, follows up on “measures to combat and eradicate the vestiges of racism, racial prejudice and racial discrimination.”
Similarly, there are working groups that follow up on the implementation of measures that prohibit discrimination against women, queer people, people with disabilities and persons in situations of vulnerability in family, labor or civil matters and of anyone subjected to discrimination.
In addition, the Attorney General’s Office has trained prosecutors on how they should proceed when they hear complaints of discrimination, and judges have been trained in the anti-discrimination laws and in how to address issues related to prejudices based on skin color.
Those involved in every aspect of Cuban life are taught to recognize incidents of all forms of discrimination and to address them in a manner that respects the human rights of all Cubans.
Cuba also recognizes the great contributions made by the Indigenous peoples and celebrates Indigenous history and culture by supporting the Indigenous projects and programs available to the entire population.
Cuba also celebrates the great contributions of Cubans of African descent in a similar fashion.
It was a great honor for us to be invited to performances by school children celebrating these diverse cultures with dance, song and art displays. The children learn to respect the various cultures that make up the Cuban population, an important factor in eliminating the vestiges of racism.
The report submitted by Cuba offers a comprehensive examination of the constitutional and legislative initiatives taken by the government to end all vestiges of racism, racial prejudice and racial discrimination and offers volumes of evidentiary proof of the successes in ending the institutions of racial discrimination and the ongoing steps taken by the government to eliminate all forms of racism, racial prejudice and racial discrimination.
Based upon the aforementioned firsthand experiences of our members, Workers World Party wholeheartedly endorses the Periodic Report submitted by Cuba and fully supports the progress made and Cuba’s continuing efforts to end all racial prejudice and racial discrimination in all its forms.
Cuba has been able to achieve these goals despite the decades-long, criminal, economic, financial and now fuel blockade imposed by the United States. Despite the hardships faced by the Cuban people, Cuba is committed to ending all forms of racism, racial prejudice and racial discrimination.
In solidarity,
William Sacks
International Relations Committee of Workers World Party
