Havana, 1 April 2024.- The Special Rapporteurs of the UN 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, in an unprecedented communication, have formally qualified the blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba, aggravated by the inclusion of the country on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, as a serious violation of international law, including the principle of non-intervention in internal affairs, the principle of sovereign equality of States and the obligation to settle disputes by peaceful means.
Having met the 60-day privacy deadline for this type of communication, the joint letter sent in January to the US government by UN human rights experts has now been made public, in which they state that the unilateral coercive measures applied by the United States against Cuba constitute serious violations of the human rights of the Cuban people, including their right to life, to food, to the highest attainable standard of health, to live free of poverty and discrimination, and the right of Cuba to development.
They also emphasise the serious consequences resulting from the restriction of Cuba's access to financing for agricultural and rural development programmes, and for the rehabilitation and modernisation of agricultural equipment and infrastructure.
They stress that the increase in transport costs for imports and the cancellation of maritime freight contracts, due to the pursuit of the blockade, has even hindered the implementation of projects of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The joint communication urges the US government, among other things, to report on the measures it is taking to ensure that international law and the human rights of the Cuban people do not continue to be violated as a result of the unilateral US sanctions.
The government in Washington has not yet responded to the interpellations received from the Human Rights Council.