The US has for the first time
abstained from voting against
an annual UN resolution calling
for an end to its economic
embargo against Cuba.
US Ambassador Samantha
Power said the historic decision
reflected the new policy of
engagement over isolation.
Diplomatic ties were restored
last year but Republican-
controlled Congress opposes
lifting the longstanding
embargo.
The vote passed
overwhelmingly, with the
support of 191 countries.
Only Israel abstained alongside
the US.
The UN General Assembly has
voted to approve the resolution
every year since 1992, and the
US has always strongly opposed
it.
“After 55-plus years of pursuing
the path of isolation, we are
choosing to take the path of
engagement,” Ms Power said.
She added, however, that the
abstention did “not mean that
the United States agrees with all
of the policies and practices of
the Cuban government”,
including “serious human rights
violations”.
The decision at the UN General
Assembly led to immediate
protest from US politicians
opposed to the embargo.
Texas Republican Senator Ted
Cruz tweeted that the act
imposing sanctions on Cuba
was “the law of the United
States, which should always be
defended and upheld”.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno
Rodriguez said Cuba was
“grateful” for Ms Power’s
efforts.
“A change in vote by the United
States is a promising signal,” he
said. “We hope it will be
reflected in reality.”
While UN resolutions of this
type are non-binding and non-
enforceable, the annual
resolution has for 25 years
allowed Cuba to demonstrate
that global opinion is against
America’s Cuba policy.
Cubans say the embargo
prevents sick people from
being treated with much-
needed US medical equipment
and farmers from modernising
their agricultural methods,
reports the BBC
“There isn’t any Cuban family
or sector in our country that
has not suffered from its
effects,” Rodriguez said.
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