UN Special Rapporteur Calls for End of U.S. Sanctions on Cuba

A senior United Nations expert is calling for the United States to lift its decades-old sanctions on Cuba, citing their corrosive impact on the country’s populace and economic future, Al Jazeera reported.

Alena Douhan, the UN special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on human rights, said the “extensive regime of economic, trade and financial restrictions” imposed by Washington amounts to the longest-running unilateral sanctions policy in U.S. history. The measures, first adopted in the early years of Fidel Castro’s rule, have defined how generations of Cubans live, she said in a statement cited by the news agency.

“As a result, generations of Cubans have lived under unilateral coercive measures, which has shaped the country’s economic and social landscape,” Douhan said. She argued that the sanctions are “causing significant effects across all aspects of life” and must be “stopped,” according to Al Jazeera.

Only the US Congress can formally lift the Cold War-era embargo. Cuba’s government has long insisted it “will not surrender” to what it calls a US “policy of collective punishment,” Al Jazeera reported.

Douhan’s noted that US measures have tightened further since 2018, with additional penalties layered on top of existing ones.

The pressure intensified again in 2021 after Washington returned Cuba to its list of “state sponsors of terrorism”, according to the report. The rapporteur said these steps, combined with the fear of secondary sanctions, have led other governments and international companies to over-comply with U.S. restrictions in order to avoid being targeted themselves.

That over-compliance is having broad knock-on effects inside Cuba, dingamag both the state’s and citizens’ ability to make long-term plans, effectively “suffocating the social fabric of Cuban society,” according to Douhan.

The UN expert linked the sanctions to acute shortages of food, medicines, electricity, water, essential machinery and spare parts on the island, according to Al Jazeera. She also pointed to a growing exodus of skilled workers from the country, which she said is compounding the strain on the country’s already fragile systems.

The cumulative impact, Douhan warned, is having “severe consequences for the enjoyment of human rights, including the rights to life, food, health and development.”

Cuba has faced repeated electricity blackouts and grid collapses over the past year, affecting the island’s population of about 10 million people, the report noted. These crises have unfolded against the backdrop of persistent U.S. pressure and limited access to international finance and trade.

Douhan also argued that narrow exemptions and licenses issued by the U.S. Treasury Department do little to offset the broader impact of the embargo.

Even when Washington authorizes limited activities, investors and companies remain reluctant to commit to long-term projects in Cuba, she said, because they fear sudden shifts in U.S. policy could leave them exposed to legal or financial penalties, according to the report.