US sanctions must be stopped as they reshape life in Cuba: UN rapporteur

A senior UN official claims that the United States must lift unilateral sanctions against Cuba because they are “causing significant effects across all aspects of life” more than 60 years after they were put in place during the first half of Fidel Castro’s presidency.

The island nation’s “extensive regime of economic, trade, and financial restrictions” against them is the longest-running unilateral sanctions policy in American history, according to Alena Douhan, special rapporteur on the negative effects of unilateral coercive measures on human rights.

Cuba’s government has argued that the country “will not surrender” to Washington’s “policy of collective punishment,” but only the US Congress has the authority to lift the Cold War-era embargo on the communist-run nation.

In a statement released on Friday, Douhan stated that “generations of Cubans have lived under unilateral coercive measures, which have shaped the country’s economic and social landscape.

According to the UN official, Washington’s measures have gradually increased since 2018, with additional sanctions being imposed on the already-existing ones, and that there will be significant increases in 2021 as a result of Cuba’s re-designation as a “state sponsor of terrorism.”

Other nations and foreign businesses also abide by the embargoes in an effort to avoid being targeted by secondary sanctions, which, according to Douhan, “suffocate the social fabric of Cuban society” and affect the ability of the people to plan for long-term growth.

US governments have ignored international demands for decades to lift the sanctions against Cuba, such as the overwhelmingly popular UN General Assembly vote at the end of October, which demonstrated widespread support for a 33rd-year embargo.

The country is further strained by a growing emigration of skilled workers, including doctors, engineers, and teachers, according to the UN rapporteur, who claims there are shortages of food, medicine, water, essential machinery, spare parts, and supplies.

According to Douhan, the cumulative effect has “severe consequences for the enjoyment of human rights, including those relating to life, food, health, and development.”

The island of 10 million has been harmed by a number of power outages and grid collapses over the past year.

The UN expert noted that investors are cautious about investing in long-term projects because Washington may have changed its mind about its policies even though the US has very limited licenses and exemptions.

She urged all states to uphold international law principles and standards and to follow international law principles that are rooted in the values of reciprocity, solidarity, cooperation, and multilateralism.