The U.N. Commission on Human Rights prepares to vote on a U.S.-backed resolution condemning Cuba's human-rights record.

BY NANCY SAN MARTIN

The annual and contentious debate in Geneva over Cuba's human-rights record takes center stage this week as the U.N. Commission on Human Rights prepares to vote on a U.S.-backed resolution condemning the communist-run nation.

The vote, scheduled for Thursday, is particularly important this year because of Cuba's crackdown against 75 dissidents who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms days before the commission's vote last year.

HONDURAS' PROPOSAL

The resolution, submitted by Honduras, is similar to the one approved last year, which called on Cuba to allow an independent monitor to examine the treatment of dissidents but stopped short of an outright censure.

It failed to mention the then-recent arrests and convictions of the 75 dissidents, who were accused of being U.S. mercenaries.

This year's resolution, co-sponsored by El Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru, Australia and the Czech Republic, again urges Cuba to comply with the request to allow a representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit the country, asses the human-rights situation and prepare a report.

STRONG MESSAGE

Honduras' lead in proposing the resolution is widely viewed as sending a strong message of disapproval from Cuba's hemispheric neighbors. Cuba has long tried to maintain good relations with its neighbors, such as bilateral programs that send Cuban physicians to needy countries.

But U.S. diplomats in Geneva, as in every year since the mid-1990s, have been pressing other commission member nations to vote against Cuba.

''We've made no secret of the fact that we thought it's important for democracies in the region to step up,'' said a State Department official in Washington. ``We're lobbying hard.''

''This sends a clear signal that this region has defined the kind of government that we all want to see,'' the official added.

MEETING CANCELED

Cuba already has lashed out against Honduras, saying it has caved in to pressure from the United States. This week, Havana abruptly canceled a meeting with Honduran representatives to discuss maritime delimitation between both countries.

Efforts to reach Cuban officials for comment on the U.N. resolution were unsuccessful.

TIGHT VOTES

The vote in Geneva has traditionally been tight, with passage by an average of just two votes.

Brazil and Argentina already have indicated they would abstain, while Guatemala and Mexico are expected to support the resolution. Chile and Paraguay have not yet decided how they will vote.

U.S. LOBBYING

The State Department official said American diplomats in the Swiss city will continue to lobby for the resolution as a sign of support for Cuba's dissident movement.

''The most compelling reason is because it sends a signal to Cuban civil society and those we're trying to work with,'' the official said. ``It sends a message of accompaniment, that they know they're not forgotten. We do it for the people who are in prison.''