UN : Record vote against US Cuba embargo
Nearly every country in the world joined on Tuesday to urge the United States to lift its four-decades old economic embargo against Cuba in a record UN General Assembly vote.
The vote, held for the 14th consecutive year, was 182 to four with one abstention on a resolution calling for Washington to lift the US trade, financial and travel embargo, particularly its provisions penalising foreign firms.
The four voting no were the United States, Israel, Palau and the Marshall Islands. Micronesia abstained and El Salvador, Iraq, Nicaragua and Morocco did not vote. Last year the vote was 179 to five, with more countries refusing to vote.
Cuba has been under a US embargo since President Fidel Castro defeated a CIA-backed assault at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.
Friends of the United States, including Canada, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom voted yes, although the European Union strongly criticised Cuba's human rights record.
The measure is non-binding and has had no impact on the United States, with the Bush administration having tightened restrictions against Cuba.
But the resolution has given Cuba a morale boost each year, especially from nearly all South American and Caribbean nations, particularly Mexico.
Critics of the embargo say it has failed to bring change to Cuba and allows Castro to blame the nation's economic woes on the United States.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said "In terms of insanity, this draconian prohibition should go into the annals of the Guinness Book of Records," he said.
The vote, held for the 14th consecutive year, was 182 to four with one abstention on a resolution calling for Washington to lift the US trade, financial and travel embargo, particularly its provisions penalising foreign firms.
The four voting no were the United States, Israel, Palau and the Marshall Islands. Micronesia abstained and El Salvador, Iraq, Nicaragua and Morocco did not vote. Last year the vote was 179 to five, with more countries refusing to vote.
Cuba has been under a US embargo since President Fidel Castro defeated a CIA-backed assault at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.
Friends of the United States, including Canada, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom voted yes, although the European Union strongly criticised Cuba's human rights record.
The measure is non-binding and has had no impact on the United States, with the Bush administration having tightened restrictions against Cuba.
But the resolution has given Cuba a morale boost each year, especially from nearly all South American and Caribbean nations, particularly Mexico.
Critics of the embargo say it has failed to bring change to Cuba and allows Castro to blame the nation's economic woes on the United States.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said "In terms of insanity, this draconian prohibition should go into the annals of the Guinness Book of Records," he said.
5 Comments:
Hi there,
We actually started our weekly debate on this topic this morning. We'd love for you to comment!
Taylor
The Latin Americanist
http://ourlatinamerica.blogspot.com
what exactly does the world have to do with the US economic embargo?
They can trade all they want, the US policy to another nation in trade shouldnt be too much concerne to them now should it?
Oh, thats right, forgot, it's "in" right now to bash on the US.
I dont know G , what the Hell does iraq or somalia or grenada etc etc have to do with the US ?
the world feels you are commiting an injustice , of course its your choice G
The world has voted this way once a year for a decade , it changes nothing , it just tells the US that the WHOLE WORLD does not approve
you are not bound by it , you will carry on as normal i am sure
but why shouldnt the world express its opinion ?
at least it is only words G , if it was the entire world saying that about cuba you guys would invade
LOL
again, then let the whole world trade with the oppressive communist regime.
i dont no about communist , but the US also trades with repressive regimes G
is the problem that they are communist ?
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