Michael Fakhri

Michael Fakhri, as UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, was one of three UN Special Rapporteurs who co-signed a February 2026 statement condemning US Executive Order 14380 as an 'extreme form of unilateral economic coercion with extraterritorial effects,' warning that restricting Cuba's fuel imports risks constituting collective punishment of civilians.

Fakhri was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food by the Human Rights Council in 2020. A Lebanese-Canadian lawyer and professor, he focuses on how food systems, trade rules, and economic coercion intersect with human rights obligations. Special Rapporteurs are independent experts — not UN staff — and their statements carry moral authority without binding legal force.

The February 2026 condemnation is significant because it positions EO 14380 within the international law framework on collective punishment, providing legal language Cuban diplomats and international critics can deploy. Fakhri's specific mandate on food and subsistence gives the statement particular relevance given the humanitarian situation documented by the UN Resident Coordinator in Cuba.