US oil blockade on Cuba 'energy starvation': UN experts

"Cuba has been subjected to energy starvation by the United States, a condition in which the lack of fuel cripples the functioning of essential services required for a dignified life," the experts said in a joint statement.

"This unlawful blockade is not only disrupting daily life but also undermining the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights."

Already in the throes of economic stagnation, the situation worsened for Cuba following a fuel blockade imposed by Washington in January, with only one Russian oil tanker making it through since then.

Supply shortages and power cuts have become the norm, and tourism -- once Cuba's most lucrative industry -- has plummeted.

"This measure has sharply worsened fuel shortages across the island, pushing essential services to the brink," the experts said.

US President Donald Trump's executive order "directly harms the enjoyment of human rights of the Cuban people", they said.

The statement was penned by the special rapporteurs on the right to development, food and safe drinking water.

Trump has mused about taking over Cuba, which lies 145 kilometres (90 miles) from Florida and has been under a nearly continuous US trade embargo since Fidel Castro led a communist revolution in 1959.

UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council to report their findings. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.

The experts highlighted reports that fuel scarcity was preventing people from reaching hospitals and children from attending school.

They said the country's health system is reportedly facing a backlog of more than 96,000 surgeries -- including 11,000 for children.

"By depriving a population of the energy required to run essential services, this executive order is obstructing Cuban people's right to development and undermining their rights to food, education, health, and water and sanitation," the experts said.

"Energy starvation as a coercive tool is incompatible with international human rights norms."

The experts said they had made their concerns clear to the US government.

The Trump administration began implementing a policy of maximum pressure on Cuba after its January 3 overthrow of Venezuela's socialist president Nicolas Maduro, Cuba's foremost backer.

The oil blockade has aggravated the country's worst economic and energy crisis in decades, leading to warnings of a humanitarian disaster.