24.People under the age of 18 who join the Armed Forces voluntarily account for under 10 per cent of all recruits. Such early entry is due to the fact that it can be helpful for young people to complete the military service required by law immediately after leaving upper secondary school, and makes it easier for them to move on to higher education the following year.

25.Pursuant to Order No. 18 of the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and depending on how they conduct themselves during their military service, young people who have graduated from upper secondary education but have not obtained places to go on to higher education yet wish to do so are given a second chance to apply for a university course and provided with the facilities they need to prepare for this.

Reply to paragraph 5 of the list of issues

26.Recruitment into the Armed Forces is never forced or coerced.

27.The voluntary enlistment of people under the age of 18 into the Armed Forces takes place at the request of the person concerned and with his or her written and signed agreement. The process is handled by the Recruitment Commission, which is the body responsible for the enlistment of young people into the armed forces.

28.Young people who enlist are also required to be physically and mentally fit to comply with what is both a duty and a right enshrined in article 65 of the Constitution. It is therefore obligatory to submit the results of medical examinations as proof of good health.

29.The consent of parents or legal guardians is provided for in the voluntary enlistment process.

30.Article 44 of Decree Law No. 224 of 15 October 2001 provides that voluntary enlistment into the Armed Forces enables a person to:

(a)Study at an academy for officers, non-commissioned officers and sergeants of the regular army;

(b)Perform the same duties as military professionals;

(c)Work in the women’s voluntary military service.

31.The same article provides that enlistment involves a recruitment and selection process conducted by the relevant bodies of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior. Before taking up their posts, the persons selected must sign a long-term contract, undergo and pass their military training and take the military oath.

Reply to paragraph 6 of the list of issues

32.Cuba does not deploy troops in hostilities, except in those that may arise from sudden external aggression against the country.

33.In the event of an armed conflict, military personnel under 18 years of age who are registered for military service do not undertake military activities until they have joined the Armed Forces.

34.Moreover, recruits under 18 years of age engage in preparatory activities corresponding to their period of training. They have access to facilities with dormitories and to communal areas.

35.These recruits also receive systematic protection from all forms of sexual or physical abuse and their rights are protected in accordance with the law.

36.Early release may be granted to recruits under 18 years of age at their request or that of a relative, if their personal circumstances are such as to justify it. Such requests, of which more than 50 are approved annually, are handled and processed as appropriate.

37.Article 13 of Decree Law No. 224 of 15 October 2001 establishes that provincial recruitment boards have the duty and the power to consider and process requests for discharge sent to them by municipal recruitment boards, and to submit proposals on them to the bodies or entities responsible for their implementation.

38.All requests for discharge, not only those made by recruits under 18 years of age, must be approved by a senior officer or head of a unit, as set out in National Defence Act No. 75.

39.The Constitution provides that the Attorney General’s Office is the body responsible for monitoring and upholding socialist legality; in other words, for ensuring compliance by State agencies, other entities and individuals with the Constitution, the law and other legal provisions in force in the country.

40.In addition, under the Constitution, anyone has the right to submit a complaint or petition to the authorities and to receive a response within an appropriate time.

41.Between 2010 and 2013, the branch offices of the Attorney General’s Office dealt with 358,019 people and processed 54,881 written claims, complaints and allegations of various kinds, of which 22.3 per cent were found to have merit.

42.Moreover, young recruits have the right to address complaints, claims and petitions to their commanders in the centres where they are based, to the Military Prosecutor’s Office, to the Attorney General’s Office and to the various levels of administration within the Armed Forces.

43.Regarding the recruitment age, an exception will continue to be made to enable young persons aged 17 who secure a university place to do their military service voluntarily and avoid any delays or interruptions in their studies at other levels.

Reply to paragraph 7 of the list of issues

44.The offence of desertion is covered in article 18 of Military Offences Act No. 22 of 15 February 1979, which provides for a punishment of between 2 and 5 years’ imprisonment.

45.Once they have joined the Armed Forces, all military personnel without exception may be charged with desertion, as laid down in article 2 (a), of the Military Offences Act.

46.To date, there have been no recorded cases in which recruits under 18 years of age have been tried for this offence.

47.In no case would the death penalty be imposed on a person below 20 years of age, for any offence. Article 29 of the Criminal Code (Act No. 62 of 29 December 1987) establishes that the death penalty is applied only in exceptional cases and is handed down by the court only for the most serious cases the offences subject to it. The death penalty may not be imposed on persons below 20 years of age or on women who were pregnant at the time of the offence or are pregnant at the time of sentencing.

Reply to paragraph 8 of the list of issues

48.Under National Defence Act No. 75 and Decree Law No. 224 on military service, no distinction is drawn with regard to the participation of recruits under 18 years of age in the event of a general mobilization. These two laws also provide that the recruitment age­ during states of emergency is the same as for military service.

Reply to paragraph 9 of the list of issues

49.The Camilo Cienfuegos military schools are vocational pre-university military academies operating under the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. Their purpose is to imbue young people with high political and moral values, discipline, appropriate physical and mental skills, and the conviction and desire to train as an officer or military or civilian professional by taking any of the modules and specialization courses taught in the country’s higher-level educational institutions.

50.The Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces implements the curricula approved by the Ministry of Education, which are fully in line with those taught in pre-university educational institutions at the national level.

Table 2Young people who studying at the Camilo Cienfuegos military schools

	15 years old	16 years old	17 years old
Province	F emale	M ale	Total	F emale	M ale	Total	F emale	M ale	Total
Pinar del Río	50	112	165	46	94	140	25	110	135
Artemisa	30	70	100	30	63	93	19	56	75
Hav ana	203	441	644	167	309	476	121	333	454
Mayabeque	33	60	93	27	55	82	21	45	66
Matanzas	56	114	170	42	104	146	32	95	127
Cienfuegos	40	80	120	35	69	104	16	83	99
Villa Clara	55	115	170	51	96	147	25	96	121
Sancti Spíritus	55	115	170	47	66	113	29	94	123
Ciego de Ávila	50	115	165	52	86	138	28	100	128
Camagüey	55	126	181	49	110	159	32	127	159
Las Tunas	30	70	100	30	68	98	25	77	102
Granma	80	161	241	77	155	232	50	182	232
Holguín	61	139	200	57	130	187	41	126	167
Santiago de Cuba	80	185	265	76	167	243	47	186	233
Guantánamo	50	115	165	51	114	165	24	103	127
Total	928	2 021	2 949	837	1 686	2 523	535	1 813	2 348

51.Young people who enrol in these schools retain their legal status as civilians and have the right to drop out whenever they see fit. Doing so is not an offence, as students at these schools are not subject to the Military Offences Act. Once they have left, such young people may apply for entry to a pre-university educational institution at the same educational level.

Reply to paragraph 10 of the list of issues

52.Courses in military and non-military subjects at the Camilo Cienfuegos military schools and at officer training centres cover human rights and humanitarian law, including the Convention and its Optional Protocols.

53.One of the subjects on the curriculum of the Camilo Cienfuegos schools is legal education, which includes instruction in human rights and international humanitarian law. Such instruction is provided in even greater depth in higher-level educational institutions operated by the Armed Forces.

54.Students under 18 years of age do not take part in military training that involves the use of weapons.

Reply to paragraph 11 of the list of issues

55.There are no non-State armed groups in Cuba.

56.Existing legislation sets the recruitment age at 18 years or, in exceptional cases, 17 years.