The United Nations Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council, Alena Douhan, stated this Friday in Havana that the unilateral measures taken by 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 international press. The official noted that such coercive actions affect all spheres of national life and directly harm its inhabitants. Especially the most vulnerable groups.
She pointed out that these measures are especially damaging amidst the problems facing the Caribbean nation due to the international crisis. The impact of climate events, and internal economic difficulties.
Moreover she emphasized that the harmful effects of these measures are exacerbated by the politically motivated inclusion of the archipelago on the State Department’s list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism.
Douhan recalled that Cuba has suffered under the US embargo since 1962, and this year the US extended the country’s presence on the aforementioned list. Which causes serious economic hardship and significantly hinders the island nation’s efforts to guarantee basic services and develop social policies.
During her visits and exchanges held since 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.
These measures limit the State’s capacity to develop public policies, violate the rights to food and a dignified life. Also obstruct academic exchanges, affect the supply of energy, drinking water, and medicines, and violate the right to life in general, she noted.
In this regard, the report on the subject that she will present to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026 will urge the United States to cease this unilateral policy “without international legal basis.” Including secondary sanctions and the excessive enforcement thereof.
She 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 remarks, Douhan thanked the Cuban government for the facilities provided for exchanges with leaders, representatives of civil society, specialists, academics, international organizations, and prominent figures from various sectors of the country’s economic, political, and social life.
With information from Prensa Latina
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