Cuban Labor Code to Protect LGBT Rights

HAVANA TIMES — As a result of discussions in the Cuban parliament, the new Labor Code explicitly included a clause against discrimination based on sexual orientation, reported gay activist and journalist Francisco Rodríguez Cruz on his blog.

According to Rodriguez, also known as Paquito el de Cuba, the proposal came from the deputy Mariela Castro, daughter of President Raul Castro, and includes non-discrimination based on gender identity, HIV status, and disability.

The theme was supported by Presbyterian pastor Ofelia Miriam Ortega, Episcopal pastor Pablo Oden Marichal, and writer and deputy Miguel Barnet.

Arguing against the anti-discrimination proposal for alleged technical legal reasons were deputy Homero Acosta, secretary of the State Council, and José Luis Toledo Santander, Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs.

Finally, with the support of First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, and Raul Castro himself, a commission was designated to consider all positions in the final draft, and the parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the law.

This will be the first Cuban law that explicitly protects the rights of homosexuals, in this case in the workplace, Rodriguez said in his blog (in Spanish).