In a record-tying show of worldwide solidarity, Barbados joined with all however a tiny handful of countries within the 193-member United Nations Normal Meeting because it overwhelmingly condemned the USA’ 63-year-long embargo on Cuba.
Thursday’s vote tied with the assist in 2019 for the decision that requires lifting the US financial and commerce embargo towards Havana, first imposed in 1960. The vote was 187 in favour, with the USA and Israel opposed, and Ukraine abstaining. Cuba’s long-standing ally Venezuela, Somalia and Moldova didn’t vote.
The “sure” vote was up from 185 final yr and 184 in 2021.
The decision, initially launched in 1992, has constantly garnered unanimous assist from Barbados and Caribbean Group (CARICOM) member states in what has grow to be an annual expression of disapproval for the embargo’s continuation.
As a stalwart advocate for the decision, Bridgetown declared its dedication to seeing the tip of the embargo, noting the extreme affect it has on Cuba’s socio-economic growth.
“The decision highlights the illegality of the continuing US embargo towards Cuba in addition to its debilitating results on the Cuban folks. The decision additionally calls on the USA to carry the embargo to an finish,” the Ministry of International Affairs stated in an announcement.
Addressing the Normal Meeting forward of the vote, Barbados’ Everlasting Consultant to the United Nations, Ambassador François Jackman, emphasised the pivotal function that Cuba performs within the Caribbean area.
He underscored the important assist supplied by Cuba to Barbados throughout the difficult occasions of the COVID-19 pandemic, notably in bolstering the well being system.
This help highlights Bridgetown’s storied relationship with the communist authorities in Cuba, having established diplomatic relations on December 8, 1972, together with fellow CARICOM members Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Successive Barbadian leaders have maintained shut ties with successive Cuban leaders, starting with Fidel Castro, his brother Raúl, and Miguel Díaz-Canel, who was born in 1960, the yr of the embargo and yr after the revolution that toppled the pro-US dictator Fulgencio Batista. Barbados maintains a resident embassy in Havana, whereas Cuba reciprocates with a resident embassy in Bridgetown.
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