GENEVA, 12 February 2026 – Several mandate holders of the UN Human Rights Council issued a joint public statement today condemning the executive order issued on January 29 by the United States government, which authorizes the imposition of trade tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba.
The experts described this action as a “serious violation of international law.” They noted that “this is an extreme unilateral coercive measure with extraterritorial effects, through which the United States seeks to pressure Cuba and force sovereign third states to modify their lawful trade relations.”
The UN experts also stated that the executive order “directly violates the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference, and self-determination of peoples.”
They stressed that the claim that Cuba is an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security and that it supports "transnational terrorist groups" is completely lacking in credibility.
These accusations, they indicated, have the sole purpose of trying to justify the imposition of an energy blockade on the Cuban nation.
The experts expressed deep concern about the humanitarian consequences of these extreme measures, which they likened to an act of collective punishment, violating the human rights of the Cuban people.
The UN Special Rapporteurs and independent experts who issued the statement urged the United States government to immediately revoke the executive order and end the use of extraterritorial economic measures.
Finally, they called on all States not to recognize or validate these actions by the United States government against Cuba.