UN experts qualify the blockade against Cuba as a violation of International Law and the human rights of its people, an official source assured today.
According to the Cubaminrex website, this position was expressed by the Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Right to Food, the Right to Development, Extreme Poverty and the Negative Impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures on the enjoyment of human rights.
This panel of experts formally considered that the U.S. economic siege policy against the island constitutes a serious violation of International Law, of the principles of non-intervention in internal affairs, of sovereign equality of States and the obligation to settle disputes by peaceful means.
According to the source, the communication of the UN Special Rapporteurs is unprecedented in this field, and was made public the day before after the 60-day privacy period since it was sent last January to the U.S. government.
The joint missive of the UN experts points out that the unilateral coercive measures applied by the North American country against Cuba constitute serious violations of the human rights of the Cuban people, including their right to life and food.
"The right to the highest attainable standard of health, to live free from poverty, free from discrimination and Cuba's right to development."
The document emphasizes the serious consequences derived from the restriction of Cuba's access to financing for agricultural and rural development programs and for the rehabilitation and modernization of agricultural equipment and infrastructure.
It also stresses that the increase in transportation costs for imports and the cancellation of maritime freight contracts, due to the pursuit of the blockade, has also hindered the implementation of projects of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
According to Cubaminrex, the communication urges the U.S. government to inform on the measures it is adopting to guarantee that international law and the human rights of the people of the Caribbean island do not continue to be violated as a consequence of this policy.
The Washington government has not yet responded to the interpellations received from the UN Human Rights Council, the source specifies.