In another display of the flaws of the current global political order, the US blockade on Cuba will remain in place, despite UN members overwhelmingly voting to end it. During the 30 October vote on the non-binding resolution, a resounding 187 countries voted in favour, while Moldova abstained, and two countries—the US and Israel—voted against.
For the last 32 years, most UN members have voted to end the US policy that economically strangles the Caribbean island nation. In 2018, the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean revealed the blockade has cost the island nation $130 billion in the last six decades.
The US refusal to lift the blockade comes at a time when Cuba is reeling from Hurricane Oscar, which hit the country’s eastern region on 20 October, damaging critical infrastructure and more than 14,000 homes. The blockade has severely restricted the government’s ability to respond to the needs of the more than a half-million citizens severely affected by the hurricane. Natural disasters have occurred many times in the more than 60 years since the blockade was implemented. However, successive US administrations have refused to heed the international consensus to end the Cold War-era measure.
Image credit: @un_news_centre (X)
Sources:
https://latindispatch.com/2018/05/10/cuban-economy-lost-130-billion-due-u-s-embargo-says-u-n/