"U.S. Government funded non-governmental organisation (NGO) that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights
Representatives of Cuba said that the organization is a U.S. foreign policy instrument linked to the CIA and "submitted proof of the politically motivated, interventionist activities the NGO (Freedom House) carried out against their Government". They also claimed a lack of criticism of U.S. human rights violations in the annual reports. Cuba also stated that these violations are well documented by other reports, such as those of Human Rights Watch. The Russian representative inquired "why this organization, an NGO which defended human rights, was against the creation of the International Criminal Court."
There is so much propaganda regarding this little Caribbean island, that it is wise to carefully consider one's sources.
For what it's worth, Human Rights Watch's report about Cuba is also pretty damning:
> The Cuban government continues to repress dissent and discourage public criticism. It now relies less on long-term prison sentences to punish its critics, but short-term arbitrary arrests of human rights defenders, independent journalists, and others have increased dramatically in recent years. Other repressive tactics employed by the government include beatings, public acts of shaming, and the termination of employment.
As is Amnesty International's:
> Despite increasingly open diplomatic relations, severe restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and movement continued. Thousands of cases of harassment of government critics and arbitrary arrests and detentions were reported.
And Reporters Sans Frontieres rank Cuba 171 out of 180 countries in the world for Press Freedom.
By any objective measure - and according to experts on human rights and liberty - Cuba is one of the most repressive countries on earth.
https://freedomhouse.org/country/cuba https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2016/cuba
Edit: Additional reports from Ammesty International, Human Rights Watch and RSF below also.