UNITED NATIONS, Nov 3 (NNN-ACN) — For the 31st year in a row, the United States remained isolated as the international community backed the Cuban resolution demanding the end of the US economic, commercial and financial blockade with 187 votes in favor at the 78 Session of the UN General Assembly.
Only the United States and Israel voted against the resolution and Ukraine abstained.
The Cuban resolution was first submitted to the UN General Assembly in 1992, since that year the annual document has been overwhelmingly backed by the majority of UN member nations despite the fact that the US government has ignored the claim of the international community.
Representatives of regional blocs like the Association of South Eastern Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Central American Integration System (SICA) and the Group of 77 plus China also rejected the inclusion of Cuba on the US list of states sponsors of terrorism.
The Non-Aligned Movement also raised its voice in New York against the US policy against Cuba.
Vietnam joined the massive denunciation of the blockade by the international community for being an extraterritorial policy which violates human rights.
Mexico, on its part, said that the end of the blockade cannot be postponed because that’s the only way to revert the difficult economic and social situation facing the Cuban people and it would turn into a positive step towards the consolidation of a more prosperous and competitive hemisphere.
Several African countries affirmed their commitment to the claim for the lifting of the US economic, commercial and financial siege of Cuba. Angola, Namibia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Kenya took the floor to condemn the US policy.
China urges the United States to immediately and fully end the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba and normalize relations in tune with the standards and principles stated by the UN Charter and International Law and with the interests of the US and Cuban peoples.
Russia said that the blockade is an obstacle in the way to full integration and hinders equitable trade among nations. The imperial attitude violates basic human rights in areas such as education, healthcare, food, energy and others.
The report presented by Cuba reads that from March 2022 to February this year, the blockade inflicted Cuba damage calculated at over 4.8 billion dollars. — NNN-ACN