Paris, 10 February 2026.– Cuba denounced the serious consequences of the tightening of the economic blockade imposed by the United States against the country during the First 2026 Plenary Meeting of the Group of 77 and China, UNESCO Chapter, held on the afternoon of 9 February at UNESCO Headquarters.
In her statement, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Cuba to UNESCO, María del Carmen Herrera Caseiro, condemned the recent Executive Order signed on 29 January 2026 by the President of the United States, through which tariffs and sanctions are to be imposed on countries supplying oil to Cuba, as part of a strategy aimed at reinforcing the economic, commercial and financial blockade against the Island.
The Ambassador stressed that these measures, adopted through pressure and coercion against third States, constitute a flagrant violation of international law and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, while seeking to impose an absolute restriction on fuel supplies to the country, directly affecting the living conditions of the Cuban people.
She further underscored that the intensification of these sanctions negatively impacts essential sectors linked to UNESCO’s mandate, including education, science, culture, and communication and information, by hindering access to technologies, international cooperation, connectivity, scientific research, and cultural and educational programmes that directly benefit the population.
The Cuban representative also denounced the manipulation campaigns and unfounded accusations accompanying these coercive measures, intended to justify a policy of economic pressure whose declared aim is to generate hardship among the population and force political change in the country.
In this context, Cuba expressed its appreciation for the Special Communiqué adopted on 5 February in New York by the Group of 77 and China, which denounces these new measures intensifying the blockade, as an expression of international solidarity in the face of this new aggression against Cuba and its people.
At the conclusion of the intervention, representatives of several delegations approached the Cuban Ambassador to express their solidarity with Cuba and their rejection of unilateral coercive measures.
The Group of 77 and China constitutes the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries within the United Nations system and currently brings together more than 130 Member States. The Group’s Chapter at UNESCO held its first plenary meeting of the year under the presidency of Azerbaijan, which assumes the leadership of the Chapter in 2026.
The meeting was also attended by the Director-General of UNESCO, Dr. Khaled El-Enany, who presented to Member States the roadmap of his proposed institutional reforms under the “UNESCO 80” initiative and exchanged views with delegations on the Organization’s priorities and future perspectives.
Below, you can find the full statement:
Dear colleagues,
On January 29, 2026, the President of the United States signed an Executive Order under which his government may impose trade tariffs on imports of products from countries that supply oil to Cuba. With this decision, the Government of the United States, through blackmail, threats, and direct coercion against third countries, intends to reinforce the economic asphyxiation measures imposed since Trump's first term, now through additional actions aimed at imposing an absolute blockade on fuel supplies to our country and sanctioning third States that maintain legitimate commercial relations with Cuba.
As announced, that country arrogates to itself the right to dictate to sovereign States with which nations they may trade and to which they may export their national products. This executive order, therefore, constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and a grave affront to peace and multilateralism. These new measures, contained in the infamous Executive Order of January 29, represent a strengthening of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. against Cuba for more than 65 years.
This constitutes a new and brutal act of aggression that severely harms the Cuban people, by negatively impacting all spheres of life in the country, including very sensitive sectors, among which those that are under UNESCO mandate such as education, culture, and science. Cuba denounces and condemns in the strongest terms this new escalation by the US government against our country, which, under a mendacious and totally baseless pretext from those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of the suffering of the Cuban people, intends to strangle the country's economy and subject millions of people to extreme living conditions.
In this context, we would like to sincerely thank the Group of 77 and China for the Special Communiqué denouncing these new measures to intensify the blockade against Cuba, adopted in New York on February 5, which constitutes a demonstration of international solidarity and support, and the brotherhood of the Global South in the face of this new aggression against Cuba and its people. I thank you Chair, and I would appreciate that this statement be included in the report of this meeting.
Thank you