Cuban human rights advocate Dr. Óscar Biscet to speak at Notre Dame | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Cuban human rights advocate Dr. Óscar Biscet to speak at Notre Dame Cuban human rights advocate Dr. Óscar Biscet to speak at Notre Dame Published: October 17, 2017 Author: Elizabeth Rankin Biscet Cuban physician Dr. Óscar Biscet, who has been honored around the world for his advocacy of human rights and democratic freedoms in Cuba, will speak at the University of Notre Dame on Oct. 24 (Tuesday) at 12:30 p.m. in the Hesburgh Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public; more information here. Biscet’s human rights activism began when he documented and exposed the widespread practice of late-term abortion carried out in the Havana maternity hospital where he served as medical director, a practice illegal under Cuban law. His efforts resulted in his expulsion from the official Cuban National Health System and eventually to incarceration. Detained many times by the government, he has spent well over a decade in Cuban prisons. Since his release in 2011, Biscet has continued his human rights advocacy in Cuba. Biscet will take part in a conversation about his experience and his hopes for the future of Cuba with Notre Dame law professor Paolo Carozza, the director of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, which is sponsoring Biscet’s visit to campus. As a member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Carozza was called upon to rule on Biscet’s petition before that body in 2006. Ultimately, the commission found Cuba in violation of its human rights obligations in the illegal imprisonment and mistreatment of Biscet and a large group of his fellow political prisoners. Because Biscet was in prison at that time and the commission is not allowed access to Cuba, Carozza and Biscet will now be meeting for the first time. During his imprisonment, Biscet was declared a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International. In 2007, in absentia, he was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush, as well as the Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt Human Rights Award, Germany’s most prominent human rights honor. Following his release from prison in 2011, Biscet declined the opportunity to permanently leave Cuba. He has focused his efforts on developing Proyecto Emilia, an initiative to promote the establishment of democratic government in Cuba based on respect for human rights. Contact:  Karen Clay, communications manager, Kellogg Institute for International Studies, kclay@nd.edu Originally published by Elizabeth Rankin at conductorshare.nd.edu on Oct. 10, 2017. Posted In: International Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related September 30, 2022 Nanovic Institute to welcome former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović September 29, 2022 Notre Dame, Ukrainian Catholic University launch three new research grants September 27, 2022 Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis September 14, 2022 Apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to deliver the 2022 Keeley Vatican Lecture September 12, 2022 Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street … in different countries? For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn