In a joint statement on Monday, countries condemned the mass arrests and detentions of protesters in Cuba and calling on the Communist regime to respect the universal rights and freedoms of the Cuban people, including the free flow of information.

The declaration is signed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the United States, Austria, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Guatemala, Greece, Honduras, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia , Poland, South Korea and Ukraine.

Prominently Australia was absent as well as New Zealand, Japan and India.

The U.S. stands with democracies around the world, who are speaking with one voice to condemn mass arrests and detentions of protestors in Cuba. We join our partners in calling on the Cuban government to respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cubans, emphasised US State Secretary Antony Blinken.

The text indicates that on July 11, tens of thousands of Cubans participated in peaceful demonstrations throughout the country to protest the deterioration of living conditions and demand changes.

It also highlights that Cubans exercised universal freedoms of expression and assembly, rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, the Inter-American Democratic Charter and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The foreign ministers urged the Cuban regime to respect the legally guaranteed rights and freedoms of Cubans without fear of arrest and to release those detained for exercising their right to peacefully protest.

They also called for freedom of the press and for the total restoration of Internet access.

The 21 Ministers of Foreign Affairs urge the government of Cuba to listen to the voices and demands of the Cuban people.