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Knowledge, Topic sheet

Education and science

· Helfen statt Blockieren editorial team

Science lives on exchange. Sanctions touch it through software and platforms that exclude users from certain countries, and through ended collaborations. Both can be the aim of a sanction or its side effect.

What is blocked

  • Cuba: According to information given to Douhan, over 320 online platforms or products are geo-blocked for users in Cuba, including educational materials1.
  • Russia: The research centre CERN ended institutional cooperation with Russian institutions on 30 November 2024; researchers with other affiliations remain involved2.

What is expressly allowed

  • US and Cuba: educational activities, professional research and professional meetings are among the authorisable purposes of travel to Cuba3.
  • US and Iran: General License D-2 of 23 September 2022 authorises among other things e-learning platforms, video conferencing and cloud services4.

What still does not arrive

  • Iran: The developer platform GitHub restricted accounts in Iran in 2019 and needed until January 2021 to obtain a US licence to restore them; for Syria and Crimea it was still seeking licences5.

Documented examples

  • CubaAccording to information given to Douhan, 50 percent of computers in schools and universities are out of service; Cuba spends 7 percent of GDP on education1.
  • RussiaAccording to media reports, nearly 350 Russian-affiliated researchers were affected by the CERN decision2.

Counterpoints: why states impose sanctions

  • CERN and Russia: the member states justified ending cooperation with the attack on Ukraine2.
  • Cuba: Freedom House rates the internet in Cuba in 2026 at 19 out of 100 points, not free; authorities blocked independent news sites6. Not every block comes from outside.

Figures marked “according to information given to” are not the cited body’s own measurements but information presented to it.

This page is information, not legal advice. It reports what authorities, courts, governments and organisations decide and say; the views of the side imposing measures and of the side affected stand side by side. “Helfen statt Blockieren” is non-partisan. Please report errors to info@aciel-martinez-poll.com.

Sources

  1. OHCHR, Special Rapporteur Alena Douhan, Preliminary findings of the visit to Cuba, end of mission statement, 11 to 21 November 2025, 21 Nov 2025. Many figures there are marked “reportedly”, i.e. based on information presented to her. https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2133521/20251121-eom-stm-cuba-sr-negative-impact-unilateral-en.pdf
  2. Euromaidan Press, “CERN severs Russian science ties, three years after Ukraine invasion”, 30 Nov 2024. https://euromaidanpress.com/2024/11/30/cern-severs-russian-science-ties-three-years-after-ukraine-invasion/
  3. 31 CFR § 515.560, text at Cornell LII, “Travel-related transactions to, from, and within Cuba by persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction”, 3 Nov 2026. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/31/515.560
  4. US Treasury, “U.S. Treasury Issues Iran General License D-2 to Increase Support for Internet Freedom”, 23 Sep 2022. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USTREAS/bulletins/32e8e10
  5. The Register, Report on the US licence for GitHub in Iran, 5 Jan 2021. https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/05/github_iran_block/
  6. Freedom House, “Cuba: Freedom on the Net 2026”, 3 Nov 2026. https://freedomhouse.org/country/cuba/freedom-net/2026

All online sources accessed on 3 November 2026.

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