A letter demanding data on Cuban medical missions roils the Caribbean and the Americas
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An unusual request from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights about Cuban medical brigades that operate worldwide and provide much needed help has roiled countries in the Caribbean and the Americas.
In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the commission asks members of the Organization of American States, OAS, for details including whether they have an agreement with Cuba for medical missions, whether those workers have labor and union rights and information about any labor complaints.
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Washington Post
13 hours ago
- Washington Post
Cuban diplomat defends foreign medical missions under pressure from US
UNITED NATIONS — A senior Cuban diplomat has accused the Trump administration of trying to discredit the thousands of Cuban doctors working around the world and deprive the country of an important source of income. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, who was at U.N. headquarters this week for a debate on sanctions, told The Associated Press that the U.S. is putting pressure on other countries and financial institutions to break their ties with Cuba. Cossio said over the decades Cuba has sent more than 100,000 doctors to more than 70 countries to provide much needed medical care. More than 22,000 doctors are now working in more than 50 countries, according to the government. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described the program as 'forced labor.' He announced visa restrictions in late February on Cuban and foreign government officials involved in Cuba's medical missions. In June, the Trump administration imposed visa restrictions on several unidentified officials from Central America for their involvement with the Cuban program. And in a letter obtained by AP last week , the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asked the 34 members of the Organization of American States for details of any agreements with Cuba for medical missions. It specifically requested information on whether the medical workers have labor and union rights, and about any labor complaints. The commission, an independent body of the OAS, which is heavily funded by the United States, said it would analyze the data and make recommendations, 'given the persistence of reports of rights violations.' The State Department said Tuesday it was pleased its action 'has prompted meaningful discussion of this exploitative labor export program after years of denial.' It said the U.S. will not stop raising these issues until Cuba curtails the 'forced labor' of its own citizens. Cossio defended the program in an interview on Monday. He said all Cuban doctors working abroad receive their regular salary, plus 'a dignified stipend.' Starting about 15 years ago, he said, Cuba began receiving compensation from wealthier countries for providing the doctors. That money covers the stipends, with the rest going to finance Cuba's public health system, he said. Cossio accused the United States of trying to discredit the medical missions, first by saying that Cuba was not sending doctors but agents to 'subvert' these counties. He said the U.S. then accused Cuba of human trafficking and put pressure on the countries that have agreements with Cuba to refuse any future medical missions. He said the U.S. wanted to stop the praise Cuba has received for sending doctors to many poor and developing countries and to deprive Cuba of a 'legitimate source of income.' Cossio said Cuba would not break its agreements. Cossio also criticized the Trump administration for reversing a U.S. policy of welcoming Cubans into the country. The administration has started cracking down on Cubans who have entered the U.S. since October 2022 on two-year permits to live and work, a Biden administration program known as humanitarian parole. President Donald Trump this month also announced additional restrictions on visitors from Cuba, among other countries. The restrictions have come as a shock to the 2.4 million Cuban-Americans. They strongly backed the Republican president in both elections and have long enjoyed a place of privilege in the U.S. immigration system.
Associated Press
14 hours ago
- Associated Press
Cuban diplomat defends foreign medical missions under pressure from US
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A senior Cuban diplomat has accused the Trump administration of trying to discredit the thousands of Cuban doctors working around the world and deprive the country of an important source of income. Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, who was at U.N. headquarters this week for a debate on sanctions, told The Associated Press that the U.S. is putting pressure on other countries and financial institutions to break their ties with Cuba. Cossio said over the decades Cuba has sent more than 100,000 doctors to more than 70 countries to provide much needed medical care. More than 22,000 doctors are now working in more than 50 countries, according to the government. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described the program as 'forced labor.' He announced visa restrictions in late February on Cuban and foreign government officials involved in Cuba's medical missions. In June, the Trump administration imposed visa restrictions on several unidentified officials from Central America for their involvement with the Cuban program. And in a letter obtained by AP last week, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights asked the 34 members of the Organization of American States for details of any agreements with Cuba for medical missions. It specifically requested information on whether the medical workers have labor and union rights, and about any labor complaints. The commission, an independent body of the OAS, which is heavily funded by the United States, said it would analyze the data and make recommendations, 'given the persistence of reports of rights violations.' The State Department said Tuesday it was pleased its action 'has prompted meaningful discussion of this exploitative labor export program after years of denial.' It said the U.S. will not stop raising these issues until Cuba curtails the 'forced labor' of its own citizens. Cossio defended the program in an interview on Monday. He said all Cuban doctors working abroad receive their regular salary, plus 'a dignified stipend.' Starting about 15 years ago, he said, Cuba began receiving compensation from wealthier countries for providing the doctors. That money covers the stipends, with the rest going to finance Cuba's public health system, he said. Cossio accused the United States of trying to discredit the medical missions, first by saying that Cuba was not sending doctors but agents to 'subvert' these counties. He said the U.S. then accused Cuba of human trafficking and put pressure on the countries that have agreements with Cuba to refuse any future medical missions. He said the U.S. wanted to stop the praise Cuba has received for sending doctors to many poor and developing countries and to deprive Cuba of a 'legitimate source of income.' Cossio said Cuba would not break its agreements. Cossio also criticized the Trump administration for reversing a U.S. policy of welcoming Cubans into the country. The administration has started cracking down on Cubans who have entered the U.S. since October 2022 on two-year permits to live and work, a Biden administration program known as humanitarian parole. President Donald Trump this month also announced additional restrictions on visitors from Cuba, among other countries. The restrictions have come as a shock to the 2.4 million Cuban-Americans. They strongly backed the Republican president in both elections and have long enjoyed a place of privilege in the U.S. immigration system.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- Associated Press
CCHR Urges U.S. Reform as Global Court Momentum Builds Against Forced Psychiatry
LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 16, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In what is being widely reported as a landmark human rights decision, Italy's Constitutional Court in May 2025 struck down part of the country's decades-old psychiatric law—Article 35 of Law 833/1978—declaring some of its provisions for involuntary detainment unconstitutional. The ruling affirms that individuals subjected to compulsory psychiatric hospitalization must have the right to challenge such detention in court with legal representation.[1] The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR), based in Los Angeles, hailed the decision as an essential step towards achieving human rights in the mental health field. CCHR said its chapters worldwide are intensifying efforts to urge courts and lawmakers to follow suit and ultimately abolish forced psychiatric hospitalization and treatment. The group called on the United States to replicate—and expand—such protections. In the U.S., the practice of forced psychiatric detainment has sharply escalated. According to David Cohen, professor of social welfare at UCLA's Luskin School, involuntary psychiatric detentions have increased at a rate three times higher than population growth in recent years.[2] A 2023 report, Involuntary Civil Commitment: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Protections, posted on underscores that such commitments 'implicate constitutional concerns and constraints under the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution,' particularly regarding the liberty interests of confined individuals. Yet, it notes the U.S. Supreme Court has never conclusively ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees all such protections.[3] While the Italian court ruling is significant, CCHR notes that it stops short of banning Trattamento Sanitario Obbligatorio (TSO), the Italian legal framework for compulsory psychiatric hospitalization.[4] The U.S. similarly authorizes involuntary psychiatric treatment through legislative orders. In both countries, forced interventions remain legal despite mounting ethical criticism. Coercion in mental health settings has increasingly drawn global condemnation. Critics argue that forced psychiatric treatment fundamentally violates human dignity and autonomy. A 2023 study in BMC Psychiatry concluded that coercion is incompatible with human rights and 'should be avoided as far as possible.'[5] That same year, The Lancet warned that coercive psychiatric practices override patients' fundamental rights, and that approaches to reduce coercion are possible, and the cost of implementing them is minimal compared to the damage caused by forced interventions.[6] Italy's decision follows another recent victory involving CCHR efforts in Europe. In Hungary, CCHR collaborated with legal experts to secure a Constitutional Court ruling that found Parliament had failed to provide legal avenues for individuals unlawfully detained in psychiatric facilities to seek compensation. Following sustained advocacy by CCHR Hungary, others, the Court and the President of the Republic, a new regulation was enacted on December 20, 2024, guaranteeing—for the first time—the legal right to compensation for victims of unlawful psychiatric detention.[7] CCHR's international work continues to gain recognition. On June 2, 2025, New Zealand CCHR volunteer Victor Boyd was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit by King Charles III. The honor recognized his 50-year campaign with CCHR to expose coercive psychiatric practices, particularly those used against children at the now-closed Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital's Child and Adolescent Unit. Boyd's relentless advocacy through CCHR helped prompt a formal government acknowledgement of the abuse and torture carried out by a psychiatrist heading the unit. The award is endorsed by the New Zealand Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Cabinet.[8] Momentum is also growing at the global policy level. The World Health Organization (WHO) released its Guidance on Mental Health Policy and Strategic Action Plan in April 2025, recommending the prohibition of involuntary psychiatric practices—including forced hospitalization and treatment—and affirming individuals' right to refuse such treatment. The WHO and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have repeatedly called for mental health systems to move away from coercion and adopt rights-respecting, support-based alternative approaches. These international reforms are grounded in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which Italy ratified in 2009. The CRPD explicitly rejects coercive interventions in mental health care. Its General Comment No. 1 affirms that all individuals—regardless of disability status—retain full legal capacity and must be supported, not substituted, in making decisions about their lives and health.[9] About CCHR: Since its founding in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and professor of psychiatry, Dr. Thomas Szasz, CCHR has worked alongside survivors, whistleblowers, and international legal experts to expose systemic psychiatric abuse and advocate for transparent, non-coercive mental health care. The growing international rulings, government acknowledgements, and awards highlight a turning tide—and CCHR says now is the time for the United States to implement legal reforms that respect the rights, liberty, and dignity of all individuals in mental health settings. To learn more, visit: Sources: [1] 'CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment,' European Times, 5 June 2025, [2] 'Study finds involuntary psychiatric detentions on the rise,' UCLA Newsroom, 3 Nov. 2020, [3] Hannah-Alise Rogers, 'Involuntary Civil Commitment: Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Protections,' Health Care; Law, Constitution & Civil Liberties, 24 May 2023, [4] 'CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment,' European Times, 5 June 2025, [5] Eva Brekke, et al., 'Patients' experiences with coercive mental health treatment in Flexible Assertive Community Treatment: a qualitative study,' BMC Psychiatry, 18 Oct. 2023, [6] Beate Wild, et al., 'Reduction of coercion in psychiatric hospitals: how can this be achieved?' The Lancet, Dec. 2023, [7] [8] 'King's Birthday Honours: Advocate dedicates award to survivors of abuse in care,' RNZ, 2 June 2025, 'Abuses in psychiatric care: The shameful story of the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent unit in Aotearoa New Zealand,' Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 2023 Sep;57(9):1193-1197, [9] 'CCHR Encourages Italy to Complete Full Mental Health Reform After Court Ruling on Forced Treatment,' European Times, 5 June 2025, MULTIMEDIA Image link for media: Image caption: The growing international rulings, government acknowledgements, and awards highlight a turning tide—and now is the time for the United States to implement legal reforms that respect the rights, liberty, and dignity of all individuals in mental health settings. – CCHR International NEWS SOURCE: Citizens Commission on Human Rights Keywords: General Editorial, Citizens Commission on Human Rights International, CCHR Italy, human rights decision, Italy Constitutional Court, Forced Psychiatry, LOS ANGELES, Calif. This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Citizens Commission on Human Rights) who is solely responsibile for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P126957 APNF0325A To view the original version, visit: © 2025 Send2Press® Newswire, a press release distribution service, Calif., USA. RIGHTS GRANTED FOR REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY ANY LEGITIMATE MEDIA OUTLET - SUCH AS NEWSPAPER, BROADCAST OR TRADE PERIODICAL. MAY NOT BE USED ON ANY NON-MEDIA WEBSITE PROMOTING PR OR MARKETING SERVICES OR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT. Disclaimer: This press release content was not created by nor issued by the Associated Press (AP). Content below is unrelated to this news story.
