US embassy cable - 04HELSINKI1006

C O N F I D E N T I A L HELSINKI 001006 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR WHA/CCA, EUR/ERA, AND EUR/NB 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, ELAB, CU, FI, ILO, Finland-Cuba 
SUBJECT: FINLAND: BOLSTERING SUPPORT FOR LABOR RIGHTS AND 
CIVIL SOCIETY IN CUBA 
 
REF: A. STATE 153312 
 
     B. STATE 152813 
     C. HELSINKI 860 
 
Classified By: LABOFF David A. Schlaefer for Reasons 1.4(B) and (D) 
 
1. (C) As reported in Ref C, almost all official contact 
between Finland and Cuba has ceased, and Finland does not 
maintain an embassy in Havana. 
 
2. (C) We are not aware of any current activity by the 
Finnish Government, or by Finnish NGOs, to support elements 
of Cuban civil society and encourage democratic change.  Nor 
are we aware of any efforts by Finnish labor unions to 
advance labor rights in Cuba.  Since receipt of Refs A and B, 
we have made some discreet inquiries, and turned up no 
evidence of any actions under way in this area. 
Nevertheless, Finnish officials have said that the GoF policy 
toward Cuba is based on "encouragement of peaceful transition 
to pluralistic democracy and respect for human rights." 
These are not empty words -- human rights concerns are a 
major factor in Finland's foreign policy.  On the other hand, 
the Finns have a strong preference for multilateral action in 
most issues, via the EU if possible and in any case the more 
broadly-based the better.  We therefore believe that the 
Finnish government and Finnish NGOs would be interested in 
principle in international efforts to assist democratic 
change in Cuba, but would not want to lead such an effort. 
 
3. (C) The Central Organization of Finnish Trade Unions, or 
SAK, is Finland's largest trade union confederation.  It 
participates in the work of the ILO and belongs to the ICFTU 
and the OECD's Trade Union Advisory Council.  Its 
international activities include promotion of worker rights, 
in areas ranging from Russia and the Baltics to South 
America, Asia, and Africa.  The SAK may be interested in an 
international effort in labor fora to press Cuba to end labor 
rights violations, but again, we believe they would look for 
the broadest coalition of partners possible before joining 
and would be unlikely to take the lead in forming such a 
coalition. 
MACK