US sanctions must be stopped as they reshape life in Cuba: UN rapporteur

"The United States must lift unilateral sanctions imposed on Cuba as they are causing significant effects across all aspects of life more than six decades after they were imposed during the early part of Fidel Castro's leadership, according to a senior United Nations expert. The extensive regime of economic, trade and financial restrictions against the island nation marks the longest-running unilateral sanctions policy in US history, said Alena Douhan, special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on human rights."

"Other countries and international companies also over-comply with the embargoes in an effort to steer clear of being targeted with secondary sanctions, which Douhan said affects the government and the people's ability for long-term planning, suffocating the social fabric of Cuban society. US governments have for decades ignored international calls to remove the sanctions on Cuba, including the overwhelming UN General Assembly vote at the end of October that showed global support for an end to the embargo for a 33rd year."

Unilateral US economic, trade and financial restrictions on Cuba have persisted for more than six decades, forming the longest-running unilateral sanctions policy in US history. The measures have intensified since 2018 and sharply in 2021 after Cuba's redesignation as a state sponsor of terrorism. Only the US Congress can lift the Cold War-era embargo. Generations of Cubans have lived under these coercive measures, shaping the country's economic and social landscape and impeding long-term planning. Over-compliance by other countries and international companies to avoid secondary sanctions further restricts economic activity. The combined effects suffocate the social fabric and exacerbate human-rights and development harms.

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