UN General Assembly will debate U.S. blockade on July 7th despite Washington’s opposition

Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez announced on Tuesday that Cuba has requested a UN session for July 7 to address the US blockade and denounced Washington’s pressure to prevent the debate. 

During a press conference, the Cuban foreign minister emphasized that the United States’ multidimensional aggression against Cuba “is not a future danger or threat; it is a crime against humanity in full swing.”

Bruno Rodríguez denounced the energy blockade and other measures that intensify the blockade as “an act of genocide, also classified as collective punishment and a massive, flagrant, and systematic violation of the human rights of Cuban men and women and of international humanitarian law.”

The foreign minister affirmed that Cuba is not and cannot be a threat to the United States, a major military and nuclear power.

“The blockade and the policy of aggression and hostility of the United States government against Cuba is a threat to the existence and well-being of the Cuban people, and to the exercise of their human rights.”

The Cuban diplomat recalled that the blockade has been condemned 31 times by the General Assembly with the support of the vast majority of the international community, and expressed his certainty that this support will continue at the next session.

Rodríguez denounced that the U.S. government has deployed “an inconceivable effort” to prevent the session, using pressure, blackmail, and threats against the governments and foreign ministries of other states.

“The Permanent Mission of the United States in New York is threatening to take legal action to prevent the General Assembly from meeting and deliberating on this issue,” he stated.

The Cuban foreign minister revealed that the State Department’s diplomatic apparatus is trying to prevent the General Assembly from considering a matter of global concern, using pressure and threats to intimidate member states.

“They are trying to censor their voice and their right to speak out on a matter directly related to international peace and security and the well-being of an entire people,” he added.

Bruno Rodríguez expressed his confidence that the vast majority of the international community will support Cuba at the July 7 session, which he considered “upholding international law and the Charter of the United Nations.”

The foreign minister recalled that “the General Assembly, the most democratic, universal, and representative body of the United Nations, will be able to address this issue objectively and surely in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter.”

“This is an urgent situation because the multidimensional aggression of the United States government against Cuba is already underway and intensifying. Its humanitarian damage is growing, and the suffering and deprivation it inflicts on our people increase every day.”

[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]