UN Warns Cuba’s Deepening Crisis Is Threatening Fundamental Human Rights

The United Nations has expressed grave concern over Cuba's worsening socio-economic crisis, warning that escalating shortages of fuel, electricity and essential goods are placing the human rights of millions of people at increasing risk.

In a statement issued amid growing instability, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk highlighted the compounding pressures facing Cuba — including the decades-long financial and trade embargo, repeated extreme weather events, and recent United States measures restricting oil shipments.

"These factors are having an increasingly severe impact on the human rights of people in Cuba," the High Commissioner's Office said.

Oil Scarcity Puts Essential Services at Risk Nationwide

The UN warned that Cuba's dependence on imported fossil fuels for its health, food and water systems has made the country particularly vulnerable to the current fuel shortage.

The scarcity of oil is now threatening the nationwide availability of life-saving services.

Hospitals and emergency care are among the hardest hit. Intensive care units and emergency rooms are being compromised, while the production, delivery and storage of critical medical supplies — including vaccines, blood products and other temperature-sensitive medicines — are increasingly disrupted.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Systems Under Strain

The crisis is also undermining access to safe water and sanitation.

More than 80 percent of Cuba's water pumping equipment relies on electricity, and prolonged power cuts are reducing access to clean water, hygiene and basic sanitation services.

The UN cautioned that such disruptions pose serious public health risks, particularly for vulnerable communities.

Food Security and Social Protection Networks Disrupted

Fuel shortages have also affected Cuba's rationing system and regulated basic food basket, with consequences for the country's social protection infrastructure.

School feeding programmes, maternity homes and nursing facilities have been disrupted, leaving the most vulnerable groups — including children, pregnant women and older persons — disproportionately impacted.

Electricity outages are also affecting communications and limiting access to information, further compounding hardship.

Essential Goods Must Be Safeguarded as a Matter of Rights

The UN stressed that access to essential goods and services — including food, water, medicine, fuel and electricity — must always be protected.

"These are fundamental in modern societies to the right to life and the ability to enjoy many other rights," the statement said.

Sanctions Deepen Hardship and Increase Social Risk

The High Commissioner's Office warned that the long-term impact of unilateral sectoral sanctions creates sustained economic hardship and weakens the State's capacity to meet core responsibilities, including the provision of protection and assistance services.

This, the UN noted, increases the risk of fuelling social disruption in Cuba.

Call for Human Rights-Based Response and De-escalation

While emphasizing the damaging effects of external measures, the UN also urged Cuban authorities to respond in line with international human rights law.

The State must be attentive to the needs of the most vulnerable and prioritize mediation, de-escalation and the safeguarding of fundamental freedoms, including the rights to peaceful assembly and expression.

UN Calls for Lifting Unilateral Measures

Volker Türk reiterated his call on all States to lift unilateral sectoral measures, stressing their broad and indiscriminate impact on the population.

"Policy goals cannot justify actions that in themselves violate human rights," the statement said.