UN General Assembly again demands end to US embargo on Cuba

United Nations: The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly called on the United States to end its decades-long economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba, adopting a resolution by 130 votes in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions.

Wednesday’s vote marked the 34th consecutive year that the 193-member body has backed a resolution urging Washington to lift the restrictions. The measure expressed concern over the continued application of US laws with extraterritorial effects, including the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, saying they undermine the sovereignty of other states, affect individuals and businesses under their jurisdiction, and restrict freedom of trade and navigation.

The resolution urged all countries to refrain from enforcing or adopting such measures and called on those that do to repeal or invalidate them as soon as possible. It also asked UN Secretary-General António Guterres to report on its implementation at the General Assembly’s next annual session.

Cuba welcomed the result as a major diplomatic success. President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the vote was a “victory for the heroic Cuban people,” accusing Washington of applying “economic suffocation, threats and abuse” while attempting to pressure countries into changing their position.

“The outcome is a triumph of the truth over those who rely on lies and blackmail to subject an entire nation to collective punishment,” Diaz-Canel said in a post on X.

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, who led Cuba’s delegation at the UN, described the vote as another defeat for US sanctions policy. “Cuba is not a threat, the embargo is,” he said.

Cuban officials say the embargo has caused nearly $179 billion in economic losses to the island since it was imposed more than six decades ago. The policy has been maintained and, at times, tightened by successive US administrations, including that of President Donald Trump.

The support for Cuba was slightly lower than in 2025, when 165 countries voted in favour of a similar resolution, seven opposed it and 12 abstained.

(Inputs from IANS)