UN experts urge US to stop "energy crisis-creating actions" in Cuba

Geneva (ANTARA) - UN experts on Thursday (7/5) warned that the fuel blockade imposed on Cuba in January by US President Donald Trump constitutes a form of “energy starvation” in the Caribbean nation.

“Cuba is the target of energy crisis-creating actions by the US, a situation of fuel scarcity that paralyses the functioning of essential services needed for a dignified life,” stated three independent UN Human Rights Council human rights experts, Surya Deva, Sofia Monsalve Suarez, and Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, in a joint statement.

Since January, the Trump administration has imposed oil restrictions on Cuba and repeatedly threatened military action to overthrow the Cuban government.

According to the experts, the US “illegal blockade” not only disrupts the daily lives of the Cuban people but also undermines “the fulfilment of various human rights”.

Fuel shortages in Cuba have hindered Cubans from accessing hospitals and children from attending school, the three experts stated.

They cited reports indicating that Cuba’s healthcare system faces delays in over 96,000 surgeries, including 11,000 for children, while delays in the national immunisation programme affect thousands of infants.

While revealing that energy crisis-creating actions contravene international human rights norms, the three experts urged Washington to stop using such measures as a “tool of coercion”.