India votes in favour of UNGA resolution calling for end to US embargo on Cuba

India voted at the UN General Assembly to end the US embargo on Cuba, citing its impact on healthcare, food production and essential services. The resolution received 130 votes in favour, while tensions between American and Cuban diplomats disrupted proceedings 

United Nations: India voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the US against Cuba, reiterating that the restrictions should be lifted to help the Caribbean nation pursue its development aspirations.

The 193-member General Assembly adopted the resolution on Wednesday with 130 countries voting in favour, 17 against and 25 abstaining.

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Delivering India’s statement, Counsellor at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN Soumya Nair said the General Assembly has repeatedly called for an end to the embargo and rejected laws and regulations with extraterritorial effects that adversely affect the sovereignty of other states and the progress and prosperity of their peoples.

“India reiterates the Assembly’s call to all states to refrain from promulgating and applying, and to repeal and invalidate, such laws and measures in conformity with their obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and international law,” she said.

Nair said India’s commitment to multilateralism is rooted in the belief that international challenges are best addressed through dialogue and diplomacy, in accordance with the UN Charter.

“It is in this spirit that India hopes that the embargo will be lifted at the earliest to help create an environment that would enable the people of Cuba to participate more fully in international cooperation and pursue their legitimate development aspirations,” she said.

Citing a report by the UN Secretary-General, Nair highlighted the impact of the restrictions on Cuba’s economy and essential services.

Cuba’s health system faces shortages of over 60 per cent of essential medicines, while food production has declined by more than 50 per cent in the past five years, she said.

“The restrictions on fuel exports to Cuba have also aggravated the country’s ongoing energy crisis. The shortages have disrupted essential services, including healthcare, education, water supplies, food distribution, and transportation,” Nair said.

The conflict between America and Cuba stems from a decades-old political, economic, and ideological divide that began when Fidel Castro overthrew a US-backed government in 1959 and aligned the island with the Soviet Union.

Washington has maintained a strict trade embargo and sanctions against Cuba for over six decades to pressure its communist regime. Cuba blames these restrictions for crippling its economy, causing severe fuel shortages, blackouts, and deep poverty.

The resolution, titled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”, reflects the General Assembly’s longstanding opposition to the US restrictions. However, General Assembly resolutions of this nature are not legally binding.

On Tuesday, unprecedented scenes unfolded in the UN General Assembly hall as tensions escalated between US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla.

While Waltz was addressing the UNGA on Cuba, Parrilla and other Cuban diplomats rose from their assigned seats and walked up towards the podium to confront the American envoy, triggering a verbal duel between the two sides.

As Parrilla walked up to the podium, Waltz stepped aside from the lectern and gestured the Cuban minister “to back away from this podium”.

“Mr President, this individual needs to back away from this podium. He is not going to intimidate me in the United States of America like he tries to intimidate political prisoners,” Waltz said, as Parrilla and other Cuban diplomats continued to confront him.

UNGA President Khalilur Rahman, who was presiding over the meeting, subsequently had to suspend the session.

Later, Waltz said he had questioned why Cuba’s “rulers” came to the UN to talk about the suffering of the Cuban people while, at the “height of hypocrisy, enjoying luxury watches, Rolexes, yachts, mansions, and even private islands, “while the Cuban people starve and sit in the dark”.

“In response, the regime’s so-called diplomats responded by pounding their desks, screaming across this chamber, storming the podium, not respecting the sanctity of this institution, and even assaulting an American diplomat,” he said.

Waltz alleged that the conduct violated the Host Country Agreement and said the diplomat concerned would be put on a plane back to Havana.

“It is unacceptable. If you lay a hand on an American diplomat in this body, there will be consequences,” he said.