Cuba: Information on the current treatment of Seventh Day Adventists
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 February 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | CUB22465.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Cuba: Information on the current treatment of Seventh Day Adventists, 1 February 1996, CUB22465.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad268.html [accessed 29 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
References to Adventists and religious freedom in Cuba that are available at Regional Documentation Centres include Country Reports, its corresponding Critique, and Cuba: Profile of Asylum Claims & Country Conditions. Please note that the latter and Country Reports 1994, both published by the United States Department of State, make rather similar statements with regard to Seventh Day Adventists in Cuba. Both mention the application of the Penal Code in cases against Adventists and the Jehovah's Witnesses; however, while Country Reports 1994 states that the neighbourhood Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs) "monitor and often harass" followers of both faiths (1995, 371), the other publication states that "they are watched and often attacked by the CDRs" (June 1995, 4).
Although there is no Critique on Cuba for Country Reports 1994, the Critique for Country Reports 1993 comments on religious freedom in Cuba and specifically discusses the situation of Jehovah's Witnesses and Adventists (July 1994, 70-71). The source states the following about Country Reports 1993, whose comments on the situation of Seventh-Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses are similar in the following year's edition:
[T]he report understates the importance of religious reform by singling out the continued government harassment and persecution of Jehova's Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists. While rightly condemning such repression, the report should have pointed out that the basis for the government's abusive posture is the call by such groups for prohibited political action against the institutional powers of the State. The nature of these two special cases does not deny religious reform but rather reveals its limitations. The political arena remains off limits for church activity (ibid., 71).
The information that follows was obtained during a telephone interview with a staff member of the Inter-American division of the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists in Silver Springs, Maryland.
The 7th Day Adventist church is active in Cuba and growing. Followers mostly practice their religion privately, at homes and other private facilities. The source was unaware of any abuses committed against followers of this church strictly because of their beliefs or religious affiliation. However, the source stated that their observance of the Sabbath has created problems for many followers. Adventists celebrate the Sabbath on Saturdays, which prevents them from working on that day. The source stated that an unspecified number of Adventists who have been absent from their jobs and duties for Sabbath observance have been jailed. Many Adventist youths cannot study in university, as they are unable to attend classes on their Sabbath. The source explained that a notable feature of Adventist youths in Cuba is their musical ability: virtually every young Cuban Adventist is proficient with at least one musical instrument, and since many are unable to follow university courses, a number of them have dedicated themselves to music on a full-time or nearly full-time basis.
Please find attached some 1994 and 1995 documents that refer to religious freedom in Cuba. Although these documents do not necessarily contain specific comments on Adventists, they do provide recent background information, and are included for your reference. The attached Amnesty International document includes the constitutional changes concerning religious freedom and association.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. 1995. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (LCHR). July 1994. Critique: Review of the Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. New York: LCHR.
General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, Silver Springs, Md. 16 February 1996. Telephone interview with staff member.
Office of Asylum Affairs (OAA), Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. June 1995. Cuba: Profile of Asylum Claims and Country Conditions. Washington, DC: United States Department of State.
Attachments
Amnesty International. 20 June 1995. Cuba: Imprisonment of Pentecostal Minister: Reverend Orson Vila Santoyo. (AI Index: AMR 25/06/95). London: Amnesty International, pp. 1-4.
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 6 April 1995. Vol. 27, No. 12. Marc Frank. "Cuba's Religious Renaissance," pp. 1, 8.
News Network International (NNI) News Service. 19 September 1994. Kim A. Lawton. "Religious Persecution Cited as Factor in Exodus."
