UN Overwhelmingly Condemns US Blockade Against Cuba

Orinoco Tribune, November 3, 2023 —

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) once again condemned, by an overwhelming majority, the illegal blockade that the United States has imposed for more than six decades against Cuba.

This was the thirty-first time that the draft resolution “Necessity of putting an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba” was submitted for consideration before the UNGA, the discussion on which began on Wednesday, November 1, and culminated with the vote on Thursday, November 3.

On this occasion, the resolution presented by Cuba was adopted with 187 votes in favor, the abstention of Ukraine, and the usual two votes against it by the United States and Israel.

After the results of the vote were published, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the majority decision of the UNGA “another victory for the Cuban people and their Revolution.”

The Cuban president also thanked the international community for its “recognition and support for the heroism and resistance” of his country.

Diplomats from South American countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Peru; Caribbean countries such as Barbados and Jamaica; Central American countries such as Belize and Nicaragua, as well as Iran participated in the event, which was addressed by Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodríguez.

“The embargo is an anachronism”
The permanent representative of Peru to the United Nations, Néstor Popolizio Bardales, asserted that the US blockade against Cuba is contrary to the United Nations Charter and international human rights conventions.

Paula Narváez, permanent representative of Chile to the United Nations, affirmed that for more than 30 consecutive years the United Nations General Assembly has approved resolutions calling for an end to the US economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.

Narváez stressed that the US sanctions have generated “shortages and suffering” for the Cuban population and “prevented the achievement of development goals.” She continued, “we condemn the embargo that has been in force for more than half a century.”

Like the representatives of most of the countries who preceded her on the podium, Narváez called for the exclusion of Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism because “it exacerbates the impacts of the blockade.”

“The Cuban people can survive thanks to their dignity, perseverance and hope,” she said. “The embargo is an anachronism from a bygone era and must be ended.”

“We condemn interventionist policies”
The representative of Brazil, Sérgio França Danese, recalled that his country has called “for many years for the normalization of US relations with Cuba” and stressed that “the condemnation of the embargo is virtually an international consensus.”

“The sanctions imposed on Cuba have affected and continue to affect the full enjoyment of human rights of the Cuban people and mainly harm the poorest,” he argued.

Bolivia’s ambassador to the UN, Diego Pary, thanked Cuba for its “commitment to the noblest causes of humanity,” and added that it was “inconceivable and contradictory that the most supportive country in the world should be in the US list of countries sponsoring terrorism.”

“The peoples of the world have witnessed that 60 years have not been enough to punish a supportive people, rather we see a tightening of the blockade,” added Pary.

“We reject the application of any policy of interference and interventionism and any measure that violates the sovereignty and independence of any State,” he said.

In his speech, Nicaraguan Ambassador Jaime Hermida Castillo condemned imperialist powers for maintaining and intensifying “coercive policies against peoples and sovereign governments.”

“They place their hegemonic interests above the interests of humanity, they foment wars, blockades, sanctions, and defamatory campaigns,” he stated.

Hermida Castillo expressed that peoples have the right to exercise their sovereignty and independence, free from “foreign interference, threats or aggressions.”