General Assembly Hall with digital boards indicating the votes of Member States for the annual draft resolution on ending the embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba. (unphoto/ /Eskinder Debebe)
By Gary Raynaldo – DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – A total of 185 countries on Thursday voted in favour of a resolution to demand the end of the US economic blockade on Cuba, for the 30th year in a row, with the United States again voting against. Israel also voted against it, with two abstentions from Brazil and Ukraine. Since 1962, the US has imposed a crippling economic embargo on Cuba. With overwhelming backing from the international community, the resolution has been approved ever since 1992 when the General Assembly began to vote annually on the issue.
U.S. Embargo Violates International Law: Cuban Foreign Minister
Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventy-seventh session Sept. 21, 2022 (unphoto/cia pak)
Addressing the UN General Assembly during Thursday’s debate on the U.S embargo against his country, Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba said the cumulative economic damage from the U.S. policy has amounted to $154.22 billion at current prices.
After the UN resolution passed overwhelmingly, the Cuban foreign minister said “the international community eloquently confirms, once again, the almost unanimous call for an end to the blockade and the isolation the US suffers due to a cruel policy that violates International Law.” He noted that during the past President Trump administration, the US escalated the embargo. During the pandemic, the blockade was further tightened, causing more delays in the delivery of necessary medical equipment. But despite limited resources, Cuba cooperated with other countries, sending medical brigades to provide aid, Cuba’s foreign minister said. Equally unceasing, he said, is “the fraudulent inclusion of Cuba” in the US Department of State’s unilateral list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism. This forces Cuba to pay twice the usual price for commodities on the international market. He said Cuba has rejected all forms of terrorism.
U.S. Urges Cuban Government To Release Political Prisoners
The UN representative for the U.S. said that his country opposes the resolution but stands with the Cuban people. He noted that the embargo includes exemptions relating to exports of food, medicine and other humanitarian goods to Cuba. He urged the Cuban Government to release political prisoners immediately and protect the freedom of expression and right to peaceful assembly of all Cuban people.
U.S. Embargo is “Economic War in Times of Peace” – Cuba Foreign Minister
The Cuban foreign minister has characterized the U.S. embargo as an “economic war in times of peace.” He said that for the past 30 years, “the U.S. continues to ignore the almost unanimous demand to cease its illegal and brutal policy against Cuba.”
The embargo is rooted in the Cold War, when Fidel Castro and his revolutionaries seized power. The General Assembly does not have the power to end the embargo, only the U.S. Congress does. Critics of Cuba say Havana uses the annual favorable UN vote as a PR campaign against the U.S. to expose its isolation on the issue.
