Every year for the past 25 years Cuba has introduced a resolution at the UN’s General Assembly criticizing the US embargo against Cuba and demanding its end.
The U.S. has lost all previous UN votes by an overwhelming margin. Last year’s tally was 188-2 with only Israel siding with the U.S. This year, according to an AP report, Obama may be reversing a foreign policy tool of 10 previous U.S. presidents.
The resolution, introduced by Cuba, demands an end to the embargo – referred to it by the Cubans a a”blockade.” The resolution also calls on all U.N. members to refrain from interfering in other countries’ internal affairs as well as the non-interference of international trade and navigation.
Last year, the U.S. deputy ambassador to the UN, Ronald Godard, said shortly before the vote that the U.S. would not abstain because Cuba had not sufficiently changed the language of the motion to reflect recent progress towards normalization.
When it first passed in 1992, the resolution received 59 yes votes, three votes against and 71 countries abstained. The shift to a unanimous vote in favor shows the widespread disapproval of the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
