Havana, Nov 21 – The Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Alena Douhan, stated today here that the unilateral measures imposed by the United States against Cuba lack legitimacy and affect the human rights of the population.
While presenting the preliminary conclusions of her investigations on the island to national and international media, the official pointed out that such coercive actions impact all areas of national life and directly harm its inhabitants, especially the most vulnerable groups.
She noted that these are especially damaging amid the problems the Caribbean nation faces due to the international crisis, the scourge of climatic events, and internal economic difficulties.
She emphasized that the harmful effects are worsened by the politically motivated inclusion of the island on the State Department’s list of countries that supposedly sponsor terrorism.
Douhan recalled that Cuba has suffered the US blockade since 1962, and this year that power extended Cuba’s presence on the aforementioned list, causing serious economic harm and significantly hindering the Caribbean nation’s efforts to guarantee basic services and develop social policies.
During her visits and exchanges since November 11 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 rights to food and a dignified life, obstruct academic exchanges, affect energy supply, drinking water provision, medicines, and violate the right to life in general, she pointed out.
In this regard, the report on the issue that she will present in September 2026 before the UN Human Rights Council will urge the United States to cease this unilateral policy “without international legal basis,” including secondary sanctions and excessive enforcement.
It will also call on states and international organizations to adopt measures to guarantee the full enjoyment of Cubans’ rights and allow the development of programs that benefit other countries.
In her intervention, Douhan thanked the Cuban government for facilitating exchanges with leaders, representatives of civil society, specialists, academics, international organizations, and personalities from various sectors of the country’s economic, political, and social life.
