UNGA urges end to US embargo on Cuba

UNITED NATIONS:

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling for an end to the United States' embargo against Cuba, despite strong opposition from Washington.

The non-binding resolution, which has been passed each year since 1992, calls for "ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba."

It passed Wednesday with 165 votes for and seven against, including the United States, Israel and Ukraine, with 12 abstentions. The majority was lower than in previous years, when votes in favor have approached 190.

Condemning the US embargo in place against the Communist-run island since 1962, the resolution underlines the "adverse effects of such measures on the Cuban people." Washington's envoy to the UN, Mike Walz, had strongly opposed the text.

"Please stop repeating this propaganda that allows the regime to then go back and have an excuse for its own failures," the ambassador said in a debate Tuesday.