UN: U.S. Policy Against Cuba Harms Population's Human Rights

The United Nations Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council, Alena Douhan, stated today in Havana that the unilateral measures of the United States against Cuba lack legitimacy and affect the human rights of the population.

Presenting the preliminary conclusions of her investigations on the island to the national and foreign press, the official indicated that such coercive actions impact all spheres of national life and directly harm its inhabitants, especially the most vulnerable groups.

She pointed out that these are especially harmful amid the problems faced by the Caribbean nation due to the international crisis, the impact of climatic events, and internal economic difficulties.

She emphasized that the harmful effects of these measures are deepened by the politically motivated inclusion of the island on the U.S. State Department's list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism.

Douhan recalled that since 1962, Cuba has suffered under the U.S. embargo, and this year that power extended the country's presence on the mentioned list, which causes serious economic damage and significantly hinders the efforts of the Antillean nation to guarantee basic services and develop social policies.

During her visits and exchanges held since last November 11th with various sectors of the country's economic, political, and social life, organizations, institutions, and projects, Douhan witnessed firsthand the real impact of the blockade on the human rights of Cubans.

Such measures limit the State's capacity to develop public policies, violate the rights to food and a dignified life, hinder academic exchanges, affect the energy supply, the supply of potable water and medicines, and violate the right to life in general, she pointed out.

In this sense, the report on the subject, which she will present in September 2026 to the UN Human Rights Council, will urge the United States to cease this unilateral policy "which has no basis in international law," including secondary sanctions and overcompliance.

It will also call on states and international organizations to adopt measures to guarantee the full enjoyment of the rights of Cubans and to allow the development of programs that benefit other countries.

In her address, Douhan thanked the Cuban government for the facilities provided to exchange views with leaders, representatives of civil society, specialists, academics, international organizations, and personalities from various sectors of the country's economic, political, and social life.