People's Daily
April 15, 2004

Mexico denies US pressure on voting against Cuba at UN

The Mexican government deniedthe allegation Wednesday that the United States exerted pressure on Mexico to prompt its support for a resolution to condemn Cuba in the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

Agustin Gutierrez Canet, the government's international press director, told the press Wednesday that there is no pressure.

Mexico has not yet taken a final decision on the vote for the human rights situation in Cuba at the meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission now under way in Geneva, Gutierrez Canet said.

The Mexican government has abstained from voicing a position onthis issue based on its foreign policy of non-interference in internal affairs of other nations and respect for sovereignty.

However, Mexican President Vicente Fox last year backed a resolution in which the UN commission criticized the situation inCuba and urged Cuba to accept a visit by UN inspectors to oversee the conditions on the island.

The United States is boosting a similar initiative presented byHonduras, criticizing Cuba for human rights violations. The commission is expected to vote on the proposal later this week.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said US President George W. Bush called his Mexican counterpart Fox early Tuesday, a talk that was dominated by the Cuban issue. The two presidents agreed on the importance of approving a resolution over the Cuban issue at the meeting.

But Gutierrez Canet made it clear that "the two presidents touched on Cuba in the conversation, but Mexico has by no means taken any decision on how to vote on the proposed resolution."

Source: Xinhua