The General Assembly rejects again by an immense majority the embargo on Cuba

The General Assembly of the United Nations reiterated this Wednesday for the thirty-second time unequivocally its position against the embargo economic from the United States to Cuba and called for an end to this unilateral imposition.

This year, the resolution obtained 187 votes in favor, 2 against (the United States and Israel) and one abstention (Moldova).

The position of support for Cuba was unanimous on the part of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The blockade of Cuba It started in 1960 and got tougher at different historical moments, reaching third countries starting in 1992, the date on which the General Assembly issued its first request to the United States to put an end to it.

The text

The resolution entitled Necessity to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States of America against Cuba (A/79/L.6), is based on the report of the Secretary General (A/79/80).

The text, presented by Cuba, reaffirms, among other principles, “the sovereign equality of States, non-intervention and non-interference in their internal affairs and the freedom of international trade and navigation, enshrined in numerous international legal instruments,” and calls upon all States to refrain from enacting and applying laws and measures that contravene themurging the repeal of these types of measures to those who still impose them.

Likewise, it expresses concern about regulatory provisions, such as the one enacted by the United States on March 12, 1996, known as “Helms-Burton Law”, “whose extraterritorial effects affect the sovereignty of other Statesto the legitimate interests of entities or persons under its jurisdiction and to freedom of commerce and navigation.”

The document also requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with the relevant bodies and agencies of the United Nations system, to prepare a report on compliance with the resolution In light of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law and present it to its eightieth session.

Two days of debate

For two days, representatives of UN member states and blocs of countries paraded around the Assembly podium to explain his vote and insist on the illegal nature of the embargoaffirm that it constitutes a flagrant and systematic violation of the Charter of the United Nations, and demand its lifting.

The delegates They highlighted the unjustified damage that the blockade inflicts on the Cuban people by depriving him of essential income and supplies as essential as medicines.

Likewise, the States expressed their opposition to the inclusion of Cuba on the list of countries that sponsor terrorism and they spoke firmly in favor of its removal from said list, specifying that, on the contrary, the Caribbean nation has been characterized by its solidarity in times of national and international crises.

Latin American and Caribbean position

As an example of Cuban solidarity, they cited the sending medical and health personnel to several countries during the pandemic of COVID-19 or its central role in the negotiations that led to the Colombia Peace Agreement.

The representative of Colombia emphasized the contradictions of the international development agenda and the recently adopted Future Pact, with a Unilateral economic and financial blockade that prevents Cuba from achieving sustainable development goals and, in general, all the advances established in these global agreements.

Bolivia, for its part, declared that The struggle of the people of Cuba is the struggle of Latin Americawhile Mexico unequivocally condemned the embargo, arguing that it is contrary to international law and alien to the values ​​on which peaceful coexistence between the peoples of America and the Caribbean is based.

Mexico also said that the blockade imposes unjustifiable and unfair measures that must be suspended. “Only in this way can we help take a decisive step towards the consolidation of a more prosperous and competitive hemisphere, but also more just and peaceful,” he added.

The Chilean ambassador pointed out the anachronism of a cold war embargo, and maintained that today it means the “flagrant violation of the rights of more than eleven million Cubans”. However, he added, the dignity of the Cuban people has shown the world that “there is no injustice that can subdue hope.”

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), in the voice of the Honduran ambassador, recalled that the United Nations Charter establishes rights, obligations and principles that no member should contravene or undermine.

After highlighting the costs of the blockade policy against Cuba and the bloc’s rejection of Cuba’s inclusion in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, he said that The United States must respond to the call of the world and its own people to end those punishments.

The group of the Non-Aligned and the G77 They were spoken in the same tone.

General blackout in Cuba due to lack of fuel

In his turn at the microphone, Cuba’s Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, began by talking about the recent blackout throughout the country, which lasted eight days, with little restoration of service for a few hours.

“The Primary cause of power outages was lack of fuelwhich affected energy generation,” explained the Cuban Foreign Minister, adding that families were distressed by the possibility that their food would spoil, hospitals worked under emergency conditions and schools suspended classes. “The economy stopped,” he said.

Rodríguez Parrilla indicated that Cuba has overcome the serious electrical contingency although normality is constant blackouts due to the high dependence on imported fuels, which always find it difficult to reach the country due to the embargo.

He specified that the damages of 18 days of blockade to the Cuban economy amount to 252 million dollars, “a money that the country has lost or stopped receiving and that would be enough to ensure maintenance of thermoelectric plants thus avoiding power outages.”

He also specified that five months of embargo is equivalent to the total of Cuban annual exports: 2,000 million dollars.

No country can endure a punishment like this

No country, even with economies stronger than Cuba’scan face a punishment of that magnitude, the Foreign Minister pointed out, and maintained that the economic, financial and commercial war that the blockade entails “qualifies as genocide and it is a flagrant violation of the rights of the Cuban people.”

When referring to the scope of the blockade of third countries, he assured that “imperialism warns the entire world that any nation that dares to defend its sovereignty and build its future will have a punishment for their rebellion.”

The chancellor denounced the escalation of impositions during the pandemic, reaching extreme levels of cruelty, to the point of hindering the purchase of medical supplies necessary for the emergency.

Rodríguez Parrilla accused US President Joseph Biden of having “mimicked with the previous regime and left the blockade intact,” detailing that The president’s management has cost Cuba 16 billion dollars in losses, “exorbitant figures for any country, but more so for a small economy like Cuba’s.”

conscious punishment

The diplomat accused the United States of knowing well the impact of the punishment against Cuba, and noted that that country cannot hide that Its conscious objective is to cause suffering to the population.

“It is a collective punishment proscribed by international law and humanitarian,” he stated.

Regarding the list of States that promote terrorism, he stated that it is a instrument of political coercion through punishments and threats that intimidate international financial institutions, arguing that during the Biden government, Cuba has received 1,064 denials of credit from foreign banks for fear of reprisals.

The minister said that the blockade is not the only instrument of aggression against his country, mentioning permanent discredit campaigns that “pursue goals of regime change, economic collapse and social explosion.”

Let Cuba live in peace

“How long, gentlemen? Let Cuba live in peace, let Cuba live in peace!”he snapped.

Before finishing, he said that the next elections in the United States They will give the winner the opportunity to continue going against the international community or to listen to his own people and end the embargo.

“Cuba is not alone,” concluded Rodríguez Parrilla, alluding to the opposition to the blockade of practically everyone.

The United States stands with the Cuban people

After the overwhelming vote against the embargo, the representative of the United States stated that his country “is with the Cuban people,” although he stressed that there is no democracy in that country.

USA supports the search of Cubans “for a future with respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,” he noted in a brief intervention.

The delegate justified the sanctions as an element of the global efforts to foster democracy and defend respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cuba.

In the Caribbean country, he cited, there are about a thousand political prisoners700 of whom were imprisoned in connection with the 2021 protests, where they exercised their right to freedom of expression and assembly and expressed their disagreement with the government.

We speak out against this resolution, but we recognize the challenges of the Cuban people and “that is why the sanctions include exemptions and authorizations for the export of food, medicines, and other basic goods to Cuba,” he concluded.

The United States has no moral authority

In responding to these assertions, the Cuban ambassador to the UN stressed that the United States “does not have any moral authority.” to give lessons in human rights to Cuba or to any country.”

To illustrate this point, he said that The United States has not ratified 62% of international human rights instruments, that has repressed students who have demonstrated against the genocide against the Palestinian people and that keeps prisoners in a legal limbo in the naval base it has in the illegally occupied territory in Guantánamo, among other examples.