UN Urges US to Lift Cuba Sanctions, Citing Child Deaths

The United States' sanctions on Cuba are directly harming its most vulnerable citizens, including children, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk. In a statement on Monday, Turk urged the US to lift these sanctions, which he described as "unacceptable."

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The fuel restrictions imposed since early 2026 and recent tightening of extraterritorial sanctions, taken together, are directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable. Children are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines. This is unacceptable. These sanctions must be lifted immediately.

Turk highlighted that fuel restrictions and tightened extraterritorial sanctions have crippled access to essential supplies like medicine, food, and water. He reported a doubling of the infant mortality rate to 9.9 per 1,000 live births and a drop in the survival rate for children with cancer from 85 percent to 65 percent. Fuel shortages alone hinder medical supply distribution by up to 30 percent.

"Such severe sanctions packages that target entire sectors of an economy and produce broad, indiscriminate, and harsh effects on populations are incompatible with basic principles of international human rights law," Turk stated. He also noted that companies doing business with Cuba face increasing isolation, with fewer airlines flying to the country and disruptions to international payment systems.

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Such severe sanctions packages that target entire sectors of an economy and produce broad, indiscriminate, and harsh effects on populations are incompatible with basic principles of international human rights law.

The article also references past US actions, including the Trump administration's efforts to restrict foreign oil supply to Cuba and impose sanctions on Cuban officials. These measures, according to the US, were intended to punish "oppression" within the country.

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Cuba faces increasing isolation. Companies are leaving. Fewer airlines fly to the country. It is almost disconnected from international payment systems.