A United Nations human rights expert has called on the United States to lift its long-standing sanctions on Cuba, citing its impact on the island's population, including on education, food security and health care.

Alena Douhan, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council, voiced her observations on Friday while on a visit to the Caribbean nation.

'Deterioration' in Cuba due to trade embargo

Douhan said that there has been a further deterioration of all sectors in Cuba due to the trade and financial curbs that have been exerted by Washington since the Cold War era.

Douhan — who has been in Cuba since last week — said the US embargo does not "conform” to a "broad number of international legal norms."

She said the sanctions "have been substantially exacerbating the humanitarian situation in Cuba... and have been designed to prevent Cuba from receiving any economic revenue, especially in hard currency."

The expert's comments come a month after an overwhelming majority of the UN member states adopted a resolution for the 33rd consecutive year calling for an end to the economic blockade.

Douhan said on Friday that she had met with a number of people from Cuba's public and private sectors to assess how they are affected by the embargo.

"For the communities with low income, the higher inflation as well as the scarcity of resources makes it very difficult to even get proper nutrition," she said, urging the US to stop using sanctions and "maximum pressure constraints."

What is the economic situation in Cuba?

An economic and energy crisis has battered Cuba since 2020, with the island country witnessing a plummeting gross domestic product (GDP) along with inflation, food shortages and blackouts.

Authorities in Cuba say the crisis stems from the economic hardships during the COVID pandemic lockdowns and stricter US sanctions, among other factors.

The US economic embargo on Cuba was imposed in 1960 after a revolution led by Fidel Castro overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista and nationalized properties belonging to US citizens and corporations.

The blockade prevents US businesses and citizens from conducting trade or commerce with Cuban interests.

Washington blames Cuba's woes on communist government

On Friday, news agency Reuters cited a US State Department spokesperson as saying that said the sanctions were not to blame for Cuba's situation, and the island's communist-run government had brought the economic problems upon itself.

"The embargo does not prohibit Cuba's access to world markets or trade with third countries. US law explicitly allows the export of food, medicine, and medical equipment to Cuba," the spokesperson said.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has bolstered the sanctions against Cuba and has returned the country to a US list of state sponsors of terrorism, after being briefly removed under Joe Biden's presidency.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah