On the political repression and humanitarian situation in Cuba

B100287/2026

European Parliament resolution on the political repression and humanitarian situation in Cuba

(2026/2735(RSP))

– having regard to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations (UN), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights, and the EU’s commitment to effective multilateralism,

– having regard to the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Cuba, of the other (PDCA),

– having regard to successive annual resolutions of the UN General Assembly on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba, first approved in 1992, and again in 2025 for the 33rd consecutive time, with the full support of the European Union and a total of 165 votes in favour, 7 against and 12 abstentions,

– having regard to the UN experts’ declarations of 26 May and 2 June 2026 condemning the United States’ threats, coercion and judicial weaponisation against Cuba and calling for an end to the unlawful energy blockade imposed on Cuba,

– having regard to the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro and the 2024 UN General Assembly declaration adopting the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS), recognising the particular vulnerabilities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including Cuba,

– having regard to the statements by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other international organisations concerning the situation in Cuba,

– having regard to the UN Charter and the principles of international humanitarian law,

– having regard to Rule 136(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas on 29 January 2026, the US administration under President Donald Trump escalated sanctions against Cuba by threatening retaliatory tariffs against countries supplying oil to the island; whereas on 1 May 2026, a new US executive order also introduced sanctions targeting foreign operators maintaining economic relations with Cuba, particularly in the energy, security and financial sectors; whereas on 4 June, the United States announced a new round of sanctions, including sanctions on President Miguel Díaz-Canel and some of his immediate family, alongside members of the Castro family; whereas the US administration also threatened foreign countries or entities with sanctions, leading to the immediate interruption of credit card payments in Cuba;

B. whereas since then, Cuba has been experiencing its most severe socio-economic and humanitarian crisis in decades, marked by chronic shortages of food, medicines, fuel and essential goods, repeated nationwide power outages, high inflation, and a sustained decline in living standards; whereas UN experts, the OCHA and the WHO have warned that these measures are having serious humanitarian and human rights consequences, particularly for children, older persons, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups; whereas Cuba is especially vulnerable due to its status as a small island developing state;

C. whereas in March 2026 Cuba’s national electricity grid collapsed three times, leaving approximately 10 million people without power, following a succession of massive blackouts in the following months affecting millions of citizens, disrupting hospitals, schools, water supply systems, food preservation and economic activity; whereas in certain neighbourhoods blackouts can last more than 22 hours;

D. whereas, following a visit to Cuba in May 2026, Edem Wosornu of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Altaf Musani of the WHO warned that prolonged blackouts, fuel shortages and shortages of medicines and medical supplies were severely disrupting healthcare services and placing vulnerable populations at increased risk;

E. whereas the EU released an additional EUR 2 million in humanitarian aid in April 2026 to support access to food and safe drinking water for the Cuban population, building on humanitarian assistance already provided earlier in the year and reinforcing the EU’s commitment to addressing humanitarian needs in Cuba;

F. whereas the long-standing US embargo continues to have severely negative humanitarian and socio-economic consequences for the Cuban population, including through restrictions affecting financial transactions, access to credit, trade and imports of essential goods; whereas the United States’ designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism has further restricted access to international financial services and transactions;

G. whereas the EU has consistently opposed the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba and has repeatedly rejected the extraterritorial application of unilateral restrictive measures, including Titles III and IV of the Helms-Burton Act;

H. whereas Cuba has legally committed to upholding international human rights law and standards, including political and civil rights and freedoms; whereas independent observers from international organisations and human rights bodies, including UN bodies, have documented restrictions on freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, arbitrary detentions, harassment of activists and journalists, and the continued imprisonment of individuals detained in connection with peaceful protests, alongside restrictions on access to justice and judicial guarantees; whereas concerns persist regarding the situation of dissidents and vulnerable groups, including women, Afro-descendants and LGBTIQ+ persons; whereas Cuba has so far not undertaken meaningful democratic reforms to allow for political pluralism and the full exercise of fundamental freedoms;

I. whereas despite a moratorium on executions since 2003, Cuba still retains the death penalty;

J. whereas the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is an integral part of the EU’s external policies, and is reflected in the PDCA between the EU and Cuba signed in December 2016;

K. whereas recent announcements by the Cuban authorities concerning the release of prisoners, following mediation efforts by the Holy See, have been welcomed as a positive step; whereas concerns remain regarding the transparency of implementation and the Cuban authorities have continued to restrict former political prisoners and have re-arrested prominent opposition leaders, activists and artists;

L. whereas Cuba possesses significant reserves of critical raw materials, including nickel and cobalt, whose exploitation should contribute to the sustainable development and well-being of the Cuban people, while fully respecting Cuba’s sovereignty over its natural resources;

M. whereas no external actor should seek to impose political change through coercion, humanitarian crisis, military intervention or actions undermining sovereignty and territorial integrity;

1. Expresses its utmost and urgent concern over the dramatic deterioration of living conditions in Cuba and the growing humanitarian impact of the lack of access to fuel, medicines, food and other essential goods and public services, particularly affecting vulnerable groups; recalls that civilians should never be victims of geopolitical conflicts and unilateral political decisions;

2. Recognises that the current crisis results from a combination of internal and external factors, including structural weaknesses in economic and democratic governance, delayed reforms and policy failures, as well as the increasingly negative impact of the US embargo, extraterritorial sanctions and energy blockade imposed in January 2026;

3. Calls for full respect for the United Nations Charter, international humanitarian law and international human rights law on all sides;

4. Reaffirms its commitment to Cuba’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity in accordance with the UN Charter and rejects any attempt to impose regime or policy change from outside through military intervention, coercive action or other measures incompatible with international law;

5. Strongly condemns the United States’ increasing economic coercion and judicial weaponisation against Cuba; deplores the threats and measures aimed at third-country operators, and rejects any attempt to impose regime change from outside through coercive measures incompatible with international law;

6. Reiterates its full support for the UN General Assembly resolution on the need to end the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba;

7. Calls on the United States to immediately halt all illegitimate practices against Cuba, including the economic, commercial and financial embargo, unilateral coercive and extraterritorial measures, the designation of Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism and the energy blockade, which severely affect the humanitarian situation, development prospects and human rights of the Cuban population while also challenging the economic sovereignty of the EU and its Member States;

8. Calls on the Cuban authorities to protect human rights and to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression without discrimination based on political views; strongly condemns all violations of fundamental rights and freedoms, including arbitrary detention, ill treatment, torture, restrictions on freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, harassment of independent journalists, human rights defenders and civil society actors, as well as the disproportionate use of criminal sanctions against peaceful protesters; calls for the official abolition of the death penalty;

9. Welcomes the mediation efforts of the Holy See that have led to Cuba’s announcement of the release of more than 2 000 prisoners; calls on the Cuban authorities to implement this decision transparently and to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and those detained for the exercise of their right of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly; urges the Cuban authorities to ensure full due process guarantees, judicial independence and respect for international human rights standards, to honour their international commitments and grant unhindered access to independent human rights and humanitarian organisations, particularly the UN agencies, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights;

10. Calls on the Cuban authorities to engage in a genuine and inclusive national dialogue involving civil society, religious organisations, independent social actors and citizens, with a view to promoting democratic participation, greater civic space and respect for fundamental freedoms;

11. Recalls that both Cuba and the EU have committed, within the framework of the PDCA, to cooperate in supporting social, economic and institutional reforms;

12. Calls for the EU to ensure the full implementation of the PDCA and to mobilise all appropriate diplomatic, political, economic and financial instruments to support the Cuban people; highlights the importance of deepening mutually respectful and beneficial relations between the EU and Cuba; stresses the need to accompany and encourage governance reforms that strengthen democratic participation, the rule of law, transparency, accountability and sustainable development;

13. Calls on the High Representative and the Council to ensure that the EU-Cuba Human Rights Dialogue is preceded and followed by an inclusive dialogue with EU and Cuban civil society organisations and includes measurable benchmarks on human rights and civic freedoms, including progress on the release of political prisoners, guarantees for freedom of expression and association, access for international human rights mechanisms, and reforms enabling greater civic participation;

14. Urges the EU to further engage with the United Nations system and other relevant international and regional organisations, including the Organization of American States, international financial institutions and humanitarian partners to develop an emergency humanitarian roadmap for Cuba aimed at:

(a) ensuring the rapid delivery of medicines, medical equipment and essential health supplies;

(b) supporting the rehabilitation of electricity generation and distribution infrastructure;

(c) improving access to water, sanitation and waste management services;

(d) strengthening food security, particularly for children, pregnant women and vulnerable households;

(e) supporting schools, hospitals and community services affected by prolonged shortages;

(f) ensuring transparent monitoring and needs-based distribution of humanitarian assistance in accordance with international humanitarian principles;

15. Calls for the EU to support the reform of international financial institutions and debt restructuring mechanisms, taking account of the particular vulnerabilities of SIDS;

16. Calls on the Commission to fully deploy and rigorously enforce all current EU instruments and protective measures to establish a credible deterrent framework capable of responding swiftly, effectively and proportionately to the extraterritorial application of US sanctions and other coercive measures targeting European operators, financial institutions, investors, and public or private entities engaged in lawful activities in Cuba, or otherwise adversely affecting the interests, sovereignty and economic autonomy of the EU and its Member States; calls on the Commission to modernise the EU blocking statute in order to ensure an effective response in that respect;

17. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the European Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and National Assembly of Cuba, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Government of the United States of America, and the Holy See.