Cuban group blasts NAM summit over human rights

A banned Cuban organisation blasted the human rights record of countries attending the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Havana.

"Several dozen governments that are full members of NAM are among the worst and most fanatical civil and political rights violators," the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) said in a statement Tuesday.

It listed North Korea, Myanmar, Cuba, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Zimbabwe as among the worst violators, in a document released on the eve of the 14th NAM summit meeting here.

The group, illegal in Cuba, also expressed its regret that human rights "are not a real and effective priority" of NAM.

NAM is currently made up of 116 countries, with Haiti and St Kitts and Nevis set to join the group later this week.

The CCDHRN statement said that the worst human rights records were among African and Asian members while "sustained progress" was noted among South American nations.