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The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OASACP), which met virtually last July, approved a resolution calling for the lifting of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for almost six decades.
Norma Goicochea Estenoz, Cuba's ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and head of Mission to the European Union, denounced during the meeting the devastating effects of that retrograde policy on Cuban society.
In her speech, the diplomat emphasized the intensification of the blockade in the midst of COVID-19, which aims at politically destabilizing the country, despite the calls by high-ranking international figures such as the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to suspend the sanctions during the stage of confronting the pandemic.
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The resolution, adopted unanimously, reiterates its support for the resolution approved by the UN General Assembly on June 23. In the document, the OEACP expresses its concern for the significant damage that this criminal policy has caused to the Cuban population and society and its extraterritorial effects after the entry into force of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.
Despite the difficulties generated by the blockade, the text recognizes that Cuba has continued its international solidarity, demonstrated in the cooperation with other countries to face the pandemic.
La resolución adoptada unánimemente por los miembros de OEACP, en condena al bloqueo de #EEUU sobre #Cuba, reitera su apoyo a la aprobada por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas el pasado 23 de junio.
— Embacuba Bélgica (@EmbacubaBelgica) August 2, 2021
"The resolution adopted unanimously by the members of OEACP, in condemnation of the #US blockade on #Cuba, reiterates its support to the one approved by the United Nations General Assembly last June 23."
The resolution expresses its full support and solidarity with the Cuban people and government, as well as its resolute opposition to the "unilateral and illegal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba." The Organization of African, the Caribbean, and the Pacific States urge the U.S. Government to lift this policy which it recognizes as the main obstacle for Cuba to implement the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
As an expression of the fraternal ties prevailing among the members of the Organization, the text requests the international community to express its support and solidarity with the Cuban people for the lifting of the blockade.
The OEACP's solidarity with Cuba has also been expressed in resolutions adopted at previous meetings of the Council of Ministers and summits of the organization, including the Nairobi Nguvu Ya Pamoya Declaration, held in Kenya in 2019.
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