Contribution to the preparation of the report currently being drafted by the UN Special Rapporteur visiting Cuba from 11 to 21 November 2025.
To the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights
Dear Mrs Alena Douhan,
As head of the Peace Movement in France, an organisation recognised by the United Nations and member of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), I would like to draw your attention to the urgent need to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on the Republic of Cuba for more than sixty years.
This blockade, which has been condemned on numerous occasions by the United Nations General Assembly, constitutes a clear violation of international law and the founding principles of the United Nations Charter: respect for the sovereignty of States, non-interference, cooperation between peoples and the search for peaceful solutions to disputes.
Beyond its devastating effects on the Cuban people, this blockade is a major obstacle to peace-building in the Caribbean region. It prevents economic, cultural, scientific and human exchanges that are essential for mutual understanding and regional stability. It makes it even more difficult to implement a diplomacy of peace in this region, where cooperation is necessary to address the economic, social and climate problems facing the peoples of the region.
It should also be remembered that Cuba plays a pioneering and exemplary role in several areas essential to human progress. The country has distinguished itself through:
- its literacy and universal education policies, which have inspired many developing countries;
- its internationally recognised public health system and medical advances, particularly in the field of preventive medicine and biotechnology;
- the development of plant-based medicines and innovative, accessible and sustainable technologies;
- its international medical cooperation, which has provided aid and care to vulnerable populations on several continents.
These achievements represent human, scientific and cultural riches from which the whole world could benefit greatly. However, maintaining the blockade not only deprives Cuba of its development opportunities, but also deprives other countries in the South of skills, know-how and concrete solidarity that could contribute directly to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Moreover, not only with developing countries but also with France, twinning arrangements between hospitals in France and Cuba can only be beneficial to both peoples. In France, for example, the removal of all the obstacles created by the blockade would also enable French hospitals in difficulty in rural or semi-rural areas to benefit from the skills of Cuban doctors. (Example: Guingamp Hospital in Brittany).
Many other examples in line with this perspective show that the blockade is not only unfair to Cuba, but also counterproductive for humanity as a whole, preventing the dissemination of practices and technologies that are useful for health, education and the fight against poverty. More broadly, it is an obstacle to mutually beneficial scientific cooperation, as recommended by the International Day of Science for Peace and Development, initiated by the UN and supported in particular by UNESCO.
Furthermore, the foreign military presence of the United States at the Guantánamo base remains in contradiction with the principles of sovereignty and peace. International reflection on this situation, with respect for the law and dialogue, could pave the way for an exemplary process of reconciliation, showing that it is possible to transform a symbol of division into a symbol of cooperation.
Finally, if the United States were to end the blockade and embark on a process of complete normalisation of relations with Cuba, this would send a signal of hope to the world. This gesture would demonstrate that it is possible to overcome a dispute through dialogue and reason, and to usher in a new era of regional and international cooperation that this multipolar world needs.
There is an urgent need to end this illegal and unjust blockade and to rid ourselves of an anachronistic situation in a world on the brink of disaster, where power relations tend to take precedence over international law.
Faced with climate, health and social challenges, and multiple ongoing conflicts, the world has no other path than peace and the culture of peace as defined by United Nations Resolution 53/243. Ending the blockade is a step towards the culture of peace. Yours sincerely,
Roland NIVET
National spokesperson for the Peace Movement (France)
33 (0)6 85 02 87 14
Bravo camarades !