Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts of the UN Human Rights Council issued a forceful statement today condemning United States measures against Cuba, denouncing them as an attempt to alter the constitutional order of a sovereign State through threats and coercion.
In this context, they urged the international community and civil society to act swiftly to prevent a “silent Gaza” from taking root on the island.
They emphasized that, as a result of increasingly hostile actions by the United States, energy, transportation, irrigation, and basic services are failing simultaneously, disproportionately affecting women, children, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups.
“Measures that deliberately deprive a population of the means to survive violate the most basic guarantees of the right to life and undermine the very essence of human dignity,” the experts stated.
They also denounced the report published by the U.S. Department of State on July 20, which describes Cuba as an alleged threat to U.S. national security and hemispheric stability without presenting any concrete evidence that Cuba supports terrorism or subversive activities.
They stressed that the illegal, unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States against Cuba violate Article 2 of the United Nations Charter and form part of a broader strategy aimed at regime change, which includes the decades-long blockade imposed on Cuba.
"The United States government must cease all threats and hostile acts against Cuba's sovereignty and repeal all measures it has imposed on the country. The Security Council and the General Assembly must urgently address these threats as a matter of international peace and security," they emphasized.
The statement was signed by George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; Zaina Jallad, Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights; Sofía Monsalve Suárez, Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Shalmali Guttal (Chair), Carlos Duarte, Davit Hakobyan, Uche Ofodile, and Geneviève Savigny, members of the Working Group on peasants and other people working in rural areas; and Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development.
Since February 2026, more than a dozen Human Rights Council mandate holders, along with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and Deputy High Commissioner Awa Dabo, have issued nine public statements condemning the intensification of the blockade and U.S. hostility toward Cuba.