UNGA: Only the US & Israel Oppose Lifting the Blockade on Cuba

On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly approved a resolution demanding an end to the U.S. economic blockade against Cuba. Only the United States and Israel opposed this decision.

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This annual call, which has been made for the past 31 years, received 187 votes in favor this time, with a single abstention from Ukraine. This result was even more decisive than last year when there were three abstentions and the same negative votes.

As the voting was completed, and the results appeared on the large screen of the UNGA, many of the delegates present erupted in applause.

Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez, who spoke just before the Assembly vote, denounced the blockade as a violation of "the right to life, health, education, and the well-being of all Cuban men and women." He characterized it as "an act of war in times of peace."

Every year, the United Nations holds a specific session to demand an end to this embargo imposed in 1962, which prevents Cuba from conducting transactions in dollars, trading with products that pass through the United States, and using the U.S. financial system, as well as products with a minimum of 10 percent parts made in the United States.

The countries that spoke in support of Cuba in the Assembly, many of which are solid allies of the United States, insisted that the embargo is a unilateral measure, which has not been decided by the United Nations Security Council and represents interference in other states. It primarily punishes the population of Cuba rather than its government.

The level of support Cuba receives in this matter is evident from the fact that eight different groups of countries, including Latin American, African, Islamic, the Group of 77 plus China, among others, presented separate motions this year to reject the blockade.

So far, however, the UNGA resolution has had a symbolic value. The Assembly has been approving a nearly identical resolution for 31 years, and this has not had any significant impact on U.S. policy toward Cuba.