Geneva, 16 June 2026. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, once again urged an end to the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the Government of the United States against Cuba during the presentation today of his annual report to the Human Rights Council.
Referring to the consequences of these criminal measures, he stated that “Cuba is suffocating under U.S. sanctions,” highlighting the suffocating impact they have on the living conditions of the Cuban population.
He also warned about the serious implications of these policies for the enjoyment of human rights and reiterated his concern regarding violations of international law and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations that unilateral coercive measures entail.
Since January 2026, Volker Türk has publicly condemned on four occasions the brutal actions of the United States against Cuba, emphasizing the illegality of these policies and their violation of the human rights of the Cuban people.
“Nothing can justify the suffocation of an entire population,” the High Commissioner has stated, referring to the escalation of the economic blockade, including the severe energy siege imposed on Cuba since 29 January.
This new denunciation adds to those made throughout this year by eight Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts of the United Nations Human Rights Council in three press releases, in which they have highlighted the inhumane nature of the intensified policy of suffocation against Cuba aimed at provoking a humanitarian crisis, as well as the rejection of public threats by the Government of the United States to undertake military aggression against the island under false pretexts.