UN votes to condemn US embargo on Cuba amid declining support

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 29 Oct, 02:58 · Archive

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution calling for an end to the US embargo on Cuba with 130 votes in favour, the lowest support in over 30 years.

The United Nations General Assembly voted Wednesday to condemn the US economic embargo on Cuba for the 34th time, but international support for Havana declined sharply. The resolution passed with 130 votes in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions, compared with 165 votes in favour, seven against and 12 abstentions the previous year. This represents a loss of 35 supporting votes and marks the lowest level of support since 1995.

Several Latin American countries changed their positions on the resolution. Colombia switched from supporting the measure to voting against it, while Chile, Peru and Honduras moved from support to abstention. Costa Rica and Ecuador, which abstained the previous year, voted against the resolution. Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Nicaragua and Panama maintained their support for Cuba.

In Europe, Germany, Italy and Latvia abstained for the first time in 34 years, departing from their previous support. Several countries including Morocco, Slovenia and Bosnia voted against the resolution, many for the first time.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla condemned the economic and humanitarian consequences of US sanctions, saying they restrict access to fuel, medicine and food. He posted on social media that the US was 'once again isolated in its attempt to continue strangling the Cuban people'. Cuban officials accused the US of threatening countries with tariffs, visa restrictions and other penalties if they voted to condemn the embargo.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told reporters after the vote that he was satisfied by the shift in positions, citing major economies like Germany and South Korea as examples of countries that had changed their stance. He denied that Cuba was under a blockade, saying 'the plight of the Cuban people is exclusively the fault of this corrupt communist regime'. Trump's administration has implemented additional economic restrictions, including an energy blockade, to further tighten pressure on the island.

How it is being reported

• Support for UN vote to end US embargo on Cuba falls to 30-year lowSimilar resolutions have been approved almost every year since 1992, but usually by overwhelming margins.Euronews · 28 Oct, 21:45
• UN votes to condemn embargo of Cuba despite US lobbying pushUS points to increase in abstentions in General Assembly as evidence that push to isolate Cuba is slowly succeeding.Al Jazeera · 28 Oct, 20:22
• Cuba loses some previous support in U.N. vote on U.S. embargoThe United Nations General Assembly approved a Cuban-sponsored resolution Wednesday calling for an end to the U.S. embargo, but support lessened.UPI · 28 Oct, 18:44

In this story: United Nations General Assembly · Cuba · United States · Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla · Mike Waltz · Colombia · Germany

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