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The U.S. against the civilized world on Cuba issue
The U.S. against the civilized world on Cuba issue
3/11/14
Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla
addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in
New York September 27, 2014.
The U.N. General
Assembly on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly for the 23rd time to condemn the
decades-long U.S. economic
embargo against Cuba, with
many nations praising the island state for its response in fighting the deadly
Ebola virus that is ravaging West Africa.
In the 193-nation
assembly, 188 countries voted for the nonbinding resolution, titled
"Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial and Financial Embargo
imposed by the United States of America
against Cuba."
As in previous years, the only countries that voted against the declaration
were the United States and
an ally, Israel.
The Pacific island nations Palau,
Marshall Islands and Micronesia
abstained. The voting result was identical to last year's.
In a speech on the
U.N. podium, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez appealed to the United States to change course on an embargo he
said has caused great harm to the people of Cuba and caused cumulative economic
damage amounting to more than $1 trillion. "We invite the government of
the United States
to establish mutually respectful relations," Rodriguez said. "We can
try to find a solution to our differences through respectful dialogue. We can
live and deal with each other in a civilized way despite our differences,"
he said. "Cuba
will never relinquish our sovereignty."
U.S. envoy Ronald Godard dismissed the resolution, saying Havana uses the yearly
General Assembly vote as an "attempt to shift blame" for economic
problems that are its own creation. Evoking former U.S. President Ronald
Reagan's famous "tear down this wall" speech at the Berlin Wall in
1987, Godard criticized the Cuban government's restrictions on the Internet,
saying "tear down the digital wall of censorship".
While the General
Assembly's vote is nonbinding and symbolic, it serves to highlight U.S. isolation regarding Havana. It is one of very few issues where
all of Washington's Western allies part ways
with the United States.
A number of
countries lauded Havana for sending more doctors
than any other country to West Africa to
combat the biggest outbreak of Ebola since the disease was identified in 1976. Among
those praising Cuba's
contribution in the battle against Ebola were Iran,
on behalf of the 120-nation bloc of nonaligned countries, and Bolivia, on behalf the Group of 77 plus China,
a group of developing nations. Mexico,
India
and others echoed that praise.
Adoption of the
resolution has become an annual ritual. When it first passed in 1992, it
received 59 yes votes and three votes against. But there were 71 countries that
abstained and 46 that did not participate in the vote. The gradual shift to a
near-unanimous vote in favor is a clear sign of the widespread disapproval of
the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
Washington broke diplomatic ties and imposed a comprehensive
trade embargo on the Communist-run Caribbean
island more than half a century ago during the Cold War. Its policy today
appears to be influenced by domestic politics in Florida, where Cuban exiles have opposed any
conciliation with former President Fidel Castro or current President Raul
Castro, who took over for his brother in 2008.
In speech for debating and explaining
the vote, the representative of countries and groups such
as the Non-Aligned countries,
the G7, Africa, the Caribbean Community countries, MERCOSUR
and the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation ... has strongly condemned the US’s embargo for violation of the
principles of the UN Charter and
international law, and called on the United States to be responsible for
implementing the resolutions of the
UN’s security council and immediately stop the illegal embargo against Cuba.
Speaking at the meeting,
Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, head of Vietnam's
permanent representative at the
UN confirmed that Vietnam reiterates its support for the right of the people of
Cuba to choose their path of
development as well as for the ending of the US embargo against the country. Vietnam entirely shares the view that the
unilateral embargo unilaterally imposed by the United States is at variance with
the purposes of the United Nations and constitutes a violation of the
fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law. These include
sovereign equality, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, right of
self-determination and peaceful co-existence and freedom of trade. It is very
much a case about upholding the rule of law at the international level.
The embargo has
obviously caused enormous damage to the socio-economic development of Cuba and the
life of the country’s people, especially women and children. For all the
numerous and updated reports about negative impact of the embargo, the human
suffering should undoubtedly be immeasurable. It is an encroachment upon human
rights. It is also one of the obstacles that need to be removed in the
promotion of the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, reduction of
poverty and advancement of sustainable development in the post-2015 period. It
is very pertinent to the theme of this UNGA Session, namely.
For the
fore-going, Vietnam calls on the United States , in the implementation of the
United Nations resolutions, to lift the economic, commercial and financial
embargo against Cuba./.
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All comments [ 10 ]
The United States first placed an embargo on Cuba in 1960, one year after Fidel Castro seized power and one year before Barack Obama was born
Why has America continued with it?
There are still plenty of diehard anti-Castro figures in Washington. But calling the arguments they marshal threadbare is unkind to threads. Cuba does not threaten American security. It is playing a constructive role.
The embargo increasingly exists only because it happens to be there.
Only Israel sided with the United States, although the Israelis were happy to forgo a turn at the podium to defend their position
The three abstentions — Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau — are not widely regarded as diplomatic heavyweights.
Viet Nam vehemently protests the US economic embargo against Cuba that has lasted for nearly half a century, describing the blockade as a serious violation of the United Nations Charter and the principles of internatioal law, free trade and navigation
For nearly half a century, the United States has been carrying out embargo and blockade measures against Cuba
Over the past 13 years, these embargo and blockage measures have been further tightened by the promulgation and implementation of the Helm-Burton and Torricelli Acts.
The differences between the US and Cuba, two neighbouring countries, should be resolved through dialogue and negotiations in the spirit of respect for each other’s independence and sovereignty
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