UN Photo/Evan Schneider The UN General Assembly votes on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba. Nov. 2, 2023 (UN Photo/Evan Schneider)

 By  Gary  Raynaldo       –     DIPLOMATIC     TIMES

UNITED NATIONS  –   NEW   YORK   – A total of 187 countries on Thursday voted in favour of a resolution to demand the end of the US economic blockade on Cuba, for the 31st year in a row, with the United States and Israel the only ones voting against. Ukraine abstained.  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.  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.

Those in favour: 187 

Those against: 2 (the US and Israel)

Abstentions: 1 (Ukraine)

Cuban Foreign Minister Says Blockade Violates Rights of All Cuban men and women 

Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, addresses the 26th plenary meeting of the General Assembly on the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba Nov. 2, 2023 (UN Photo/Evan Schneider)

Cuba’s Minister for Foreign Affairs said that as a result of U.S. embargo,  families lack goods, there are long queues, excessively high prices, and the Government makes great efforts to feed its people.  Despite wavers on food products, the US is violating rules of international trade, he said.

“Cuba is prevented from buying from US companies and its subsidiaries in third countries, equipment, technologies, medical devices and end use pharmaceuticals, and is therefore forced to acquire them at exorbitant prices by way of intermediaries or to replace them with less-effective generic drugs,” he said, citing testimony from Cuban families wrestling with serious illnesses.

He said 80 per cent of the population has never known life without the crippling US blockade. It is “an act of economic warfare, in times of peace”, creating a situation of ungovernability and an attempt to destroy the constitutional order, he added.  He said Cuba was not threat at all to the US and that to subject a small nation for decades to economic warfare, was unacceptable. 

American Representative Says U.S. Stands with Cuban People 

Representative of the United States, Paul Folmsbee, said that his country “stands resolutely” with the Cuban people. “We strongly support their pursuit of a future with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,” he said, noting that sanctions are “one set of tools” in the US’ broader effort towards encouraging Cuba to advance democracy and promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

He said the US recognizes the challenges the Cuban people face, explaining that sanctions include exemptions and authorizations relating to exports of food, medicines, and other humanitarian goods to Cuba.

“The US opposes this resolution,” he said, encouraging the General Assembly to urge the Cuban Government to adhere to its human rights obligations “and listen to the Cuban people and their aspirations to determine their own future.”