Cuba crisis: UN experts warn over US sanctions

Independent United Nations rights experts urged swift international action on Thursday, saying US sanctions and an effective oil blockade were worsening conditions in Cuba and pushing humanitarian consequences toward a “full-blown crisis”.

The experts said energy, transport, irrigation and basic services were failing, with women, children, older people and other vulnerable groups disproportionately affected. They said the situation threatened rights to health, life, food and development.

Cuba has been under a US trade embargo since 1962. The experts said living conditions had worsened since Washington launched an energy blockade in January, with millions of Cubans facing daily challenges getting water, food, transport and sleep.

They also said UN agencies in Cuba had warned of growing risks of food insecurity and shortages of medicines and basic necessities.

“Food must never be used as an instrument of political pressure,” the experts said. They called on the US government to stop threats and hostile acts against Cuba’s sovereignty and revoke measures they said were contrary to international law.

They urged the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly to address the threats urgently as a matter of international peace and security.

The statement was written by special rapporteurs on development, the right to food and the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures, among others. Such experts are independent figures mandated by the Human Rights Council and do not speak for the United Nations itself.