allows reviewing the state of Human Rights in member countries of the United Nations Organization (UN), allowing governments to present the actions they have carried out to improve the situation and what they have done to comply with their obligations but also listening to what stakeholders have to say.

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And it is in this matter where the UPR is interesting, to recognize the growth of an independent civil society in totalitarian contexts. The case of Cuba is emblematic in this matter if one takes into account that the regime has only allowed and endorsed the creation of civil society organizations aligned with its own positions.

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In other words, organizations are only accepted, allowed, and even promoted on the island if they are not in opposition to or contrary to government visions. In this sense, for each of the UPR cycles, the various organizations inside and outside Cuba align themselves with the firm purpose of selling a country with very limited problems, a guarantor of Human Rights.

This version of the organizations contrasts with the reality of Cuban society which, thanks to the rise of social networks and independent media in the last decade, has grown and consolidated. More and more independent civil society organizations from different sectors present an alternative reality to official Cuba and it is precisely in the UPR where one of the greatest challenges arises.

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Although the participation of independent civil society has been rendered invisible by the overwhelming participation of these organizations co-opted by the Cuban State and its allies, cycle after cycle has seen the growth of complaints and the Cuban State has found it more difficult to hide the human rights situation,not only because of the increase in the number of independent organizations, but also because of the solidarity of countries committed to the protection of people and who increasingly know more and better what is happening on the island.

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Since its creation in 2006, Cuba has presented three UPRs (2009, 2013, 2018) and between October and November 2023 it is preparing to present the exam for the fourth cycle.If it is taken into account that for the second cycle (2013) 292 recommendations were presented to the State and of these it accepted 226, while in 2018 339 recommendations were presented and it accepted 226, it is possible to affirm that the number of recommendations has increased. increasing and the percentage of acceptance of the Cuban State has been decreasing. From 79% acceptance of the recommendations received in 2013, it went to 67% acceptance of the recommendations in 2018.

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This is explained by the fact that in the last UPR there were more non-government organizations that presented their contributions, being an independent civil society that participated in a more active and diverse way in this third cycle.

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We are facing an awakening of independent civil society and a greater awareness of Human Rights violations in the international context. However, the steamroller of the pro-government society and the friends of the regime continue to hide the outrages and cover them up with false achievements. For this reason, it is very important that, despite the repression, Cubans in the diaspora and Cubans who are inside the island organize and present their contributions for the 2023 UPR.

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Only an active and participatory civil society that presents documented and credible information can ensure that what the people of Cuba are experiencing today is recorded in the next UPR, both in the contributions of the interested parties and in the recommendations of the countries.

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Very surely the Cuban government will not accept them and will allege, as in past reports, that "they are politically biased and built on false bases, derived from attempts to discredit Cuba by those who, with their hegemonic ambitions, refuse to accept diversity." and the right of self-determination of the Cuban people”. However, deep down what will remain is that the percentage of non-acceptance of these recommendations will continue to grow and with this the dictatorship will be increasingly exposed, evidencing a more critical situation of Human Rights.