UN votes overwhelmingly to end US embargo on Cuba. US and Israel oppose
- General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they reflect world opinion
- The embargo was imposed in 1960 following the revolution led by Fidel Castro
The UN General Assembly called for the 31st time on the United States to end its decades-long trade embargo against Cuba as the communist-run island suffers its worst economic crisis in decades, with shortages of food, fuel and medicine.
The non-binding resolution was approved by 187 countries and opposed only by the United States and Israel, with Ukraine abstaining. Somalia, Venezuela and Moldova didn’t vote.
The “yes” vote was up from 185 last year and 184 in 2021, and it tied the 2019 vote of 187.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a speech before the assembly that the “blockade prevents Cuba from accessing food, medicines, and technological and medical equipment”.
Havana is also prohibited from exporting to the neighbouring United States, Rodriguez said, curtailing access to a massive market for its goods and costing Cuba nearly US$5 billion in losses in 2022 alone.
“The blockade (embargo) qualifies as a crime of genocide,” said Rodriguez, who said the US policies were deliberately aimed at promoting suffering among the Cuban people in order to force change in the government.
