UN Experts Slam US 'Energy Starvation' Blockade on Cuba Amid Health Crisis

"Cuba has been subjected to energy starvation by the United States, a condition in which the lack of fuel cripples the functioning of essential services required for a dignified life," three independent human rights experts of the UN Human Rights Council -- Surya Deva, Sofia Monsalve Suarez and Pedro Arrojo-Agudo -- said in a joint statement.

Since January, the Trump administration has been imposing oil restrictions on Cuba and has repeatedly threatened military action to overthrow the Cuban government, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US "unlawful blockade" has not only disrupted the daily lives of the Cuban people, but also undermined "the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights," the experts said.

Fuel shortages have prevented Cubans from reaching hospitals and children from attending school, they said, citing reports that Cuba's health system is facing a backlog of more than 96,000 pending surgeries, including 11,000 for children, while delays in the national immunisation program have affected thousands of infants.

Noting that energy starvation is incompatible with international human rights norms, the experts urged Washington to stop using such measures as "a coercive tool."

Speaking at a recent event in Palm Beach, Florida, US President Donald Trump said the United States would take control of Cuba "almost immediately" after "finishing a job," referring to the conflict with Iran in the Middle East.

He also threatened to position the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln about "100 yards" off Cuba's coast after its return from that region.

On May 6, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said it is "cynical and hypocritical" for the United States to threaten using military forces to "liberate" the country after more than six decades of economic, commercial and financial embargo.

- IANS