UN General Assembly Backs Call to End US Embargo on Cuba

Istanbul (ANTARA) — On Tuesday (28 October), the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an end to the economic, trade and financial embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba.

A total of 130 countries, including Türkiye, voted in favour of the draft resolution calling for the embargo on Cuba to be lifted.

Seventeen countries, including the US, Israel, Ukraine, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates, voted against it, while 25 abstained.

Addressing the Assembly before the vote, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla said the embargo directly affected the daily lives of Cubans, particularly through shortages of fuel, medicines, food and other essential goods.

“Cuba is not a threat. The blockade is the threat,” Rodríguez said.

“We are not talking about figures. We are talking about human lives,” he said, adding that the embargo’s impact could be felt at Cuban families’ dinner tables and by patients in hospitals.

Meanwhile, US representative Mike Waltz rejected Havana’s portrayal of the sanctions. He argued that Cuba’s economic difficulties were primarily caused by its own government’s policies.

The UN General Assembly resolution is non-binding and serves as a recommendation reflecting the position of the international community.

The US embargo on Cuba was first imposed in 1960 and was expanded further in subsequent years.