November 26, 2025 — Belly of the Beast
Alena Douhan, the United Nations special rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, spent 10 days in Cuba meeting with stakeholders on the impact of sanctions. In a press conference at the end of her visit, she called on the U.S. to stop sanctioning the island.
After a week and a half of fieldwork, United Nations Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan described U.S. sanctions as “a breach of international law,” which undermine “the enjoyment of human rights, including the rights to life, food, health and development.” She added: “I call on the United States to lift and suspend all unilateral coercive measures applied to Cuba.”
Douhan’s full report on her findings will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026.
