"There is no justification under international law for imposing economic sanctions on third states for engaging in legitimate exchanges with another sovereign state," said United Nations expert and independent rapporteurs George Katrougalos (promotion of a democratic and equitable international order), Ben Saul (protection of human rights in the fight against terrorism), and Michael Fakhri (right to food), respectively.
In an official statement, the experts condemned the recent Executive Order signed by the U.S. President, stating that characterizing the island as an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security and accusing it of supporting "transnational terrorist groups" are arguments without credibility, which seem designed "to justify the extraordinary use of coercive powers," according to the UN website.
In this regard, they also pointed out that this extraterritorial measure taken by the U.S. government has not been authorized by the UN Security Council, and therefore has no basis in collective security, while constituting a serious violation of international law. Furthermore, they asserted that it "directly violates the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference, and self-determination of peoples."
According to press reports, the experts agreed that interfering with fuel imports could cause a serious humanitarian crisis in Cuba, which is already in a complex situation due to the constant intensification of the blockade imposed more than six decades ago.
Finally, they demanded that the U.S. government immediately revoke the measure, called on all states not to recognize or validate these actions against Cuba, and warned that the normalization of unilateral economic coercion erodes the international legal order, weakens multilateral institutions, and inflicts unacceptable suffering on the civilian population.
