The Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, Anayansi Rodríguez, assured that the island has the support of the international community in its just demand that the U.S. blockade be lifted, and thanked all those countries who have expressed their condemnation of the policy.
In an interview with Prensa Latina, Rodríguez noted that as long as the blockade remains, Cuba will continue to denounce it in all possible multilateral fora, and will present the resolution calling for its end before the United Nations.
This year’s vote on said resolution again reflected the international community’s rejection of the tightening of the blockade policy, and the concern regarding the aggressive and disrespectful rhetoric of the administration of President Donald Trump and his Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, the Cuban diplomat added.
In contrast, the member countries of the multilateral organization almost unanimously demonstrated with their vote that they are committed to dialogue and cooperation in relations between states, Rodríguez stressed.
This is based on the principles of the UN Charter and international law, including respect for sovereignty, self-determination and the territorial integrity of states, without interference in their political, economic and social affairs, she added.
“History has shown that the peoples of the world are committed to just causes and that is why they have increasingly joined the vote in support of Cuba,” the diplomat noted.
When Cuba’s draft resolution was first presented in 1992, at the 47th session of the UN General Assembly, 26 delegations intervened in the debate and, among them, two blocs: the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the then European Community, she recalled.
However, that number gradually increased and in recent years more than 40 nations have raised their voice in support of Cuba, the ambassador explained.
In 2017, the diplomat continued, 42 delegations expressed support for the resolution, eight of them representing important regional groups such as the NAM and the Group of 77.
The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Community of Caribbean States, the African Group, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, also supported Cuba’s demand.
Most of the speeches offered by representatives in support of the resolution pointed out that the differences between states should be resolved through dialogue, and not confrontation, the Cuban representative added.
Many of the speeches also highlighted the contributions of Cuba to South-South cooperation and the island’s commitment to solidarity with many nations of the world.
“As such, the support for Cuba and the universal demand for the lifting of the blockade were not only manifested with the 191 votes in favor of the resolution and the total isolation of the United States with only the accompaniment of Israel,” Rodríguez emphasized.
For as long as the blockade exists, she stressed, the Cuban delegation to the UN will permanently denounce it in every possible space, since this policy is the main obstacle to the development of the country and is a flagrant violation of the human rights of an entire people.
As has been demonstrated over time, the blockade is a failed policy. Instead of causing “hunger, despair and the overthrow of government,” as it was intended, it only makes Cuba more human and solidary, as the leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, noted.
“Today we are more convinced than ever that it is our sole responsibility to defend our sovereignty and our right to freely choose our future,” Rodríguez concluded.
(Granma)