FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Decemberr 1, 2025
Washington, DC — ACERE strongly endorses the findings and recommendations presented in the recent report to the United Nations Human Rights Council by the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures, Ms. Alena Douhan, on the negative impact of US sanctions on the enjoyment of Cubans’ human rights¹.
Ms. Douhan visited Cuba in November 2025 and concluded that U.S. unilateral sanctions have a “huge impact on every aspect of life,” leading to significant challenges for human rights, including rights to life, health, and food. This latest report follows the Rapporteur’s second official visit to Cuba. Ms. Douhan released an earlier report in 2023²
Ms. Douhan’s recent report following her country visit to Cuba reinforces what three decades of UN experts and overwhelming General Assembly resolutions have all clearly and consistently declared: “The embargo continues to be the main obstacle to the enjoyment of all human rights by the Cuban people, including their economic and social development. It is a massive, flagrant and unacceptable denial of the human rights of the Cuban people.”
Ms. Douhan’s report is not an isolated opinion but part of a long and consistent lineage of UN expert analysis. Her findings echo those of her predecessors, and build upon decades of documentation of extensive evidence. This latest assessment aligns with that of her predecessor, Idriss Jazairy, and the 2023 report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which also detailed the severe socio-economic impact of unilateral coercive measures on Cuba. Furthermore, it validates the long-standing position of the international community, as demonstrated by 31 consecutive annual votes in the UN General Assembly where nearly every member country has demanded an end to the U.S. embargo.
The report systematically details how the embargo, particularly its reinforcement under the first Trump administration and the subsequent “maximum pressure” campaign maintained under the Biden administration, continues to violate international law and inflict profound humanitarian harm.
The U.S. embargo is a failed and cruel policy that collectively punishes the entire Cuban population and beyond, undermining the very rights it purports to promote. Rather than advancing democracy or freedom, the embargo systematically cripples the island’s economy and people’s everyday life, inflicting widespread and severe suffering on its population. It acts as the primary obstacle to the Cuban people’s access to essential goods, medicines, medical and other technologies. In short, this report categorically condemns the embargo as the fundamental violation of the human rights of the Cuban population, and demands its immediate and unconditional lifting.
ACERE echoes the findings of Ms. Douhan and calls on the Trump administration to heed this authoritative call to change a failed, counterproductive, irrational and inhumane policy. ACERE joins the U.N., dozens of humanitarian and human rights organizations and the vast majority of the world in calling on the White House and Congress to take swift and decisive action to lift the embargo on Cuba, paving the way for a new chapter of bilateral relations based on mutual respect, cooperation, and a genuine commitment to the human rights and well-being of the Cuban people.
ACERE applauds the Special Rapporteur’s report and recommendations calling out the U.S. embargo as the main impediment to Cubans’ enjoyment of human rights, as outlined in its submission.
- UN Human Rights Council report, A/HRC/60/36, was released in July 2025 and discusses the impact of sanctions on economic, labor, and social rights globally. A new report focusing on the impact of US sanctions on Cuba will be released in 2026.
- A/HRC/54, which provided a meticulous and damning indictment of the United States’ economic, commercial, and financial embargo, which –following additional maximum pressure measures and Cuba’s re-designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism– has been “strengthened to the level of a country blockade.”
