United States Abstains on Cuban Embargo Vote at UN

In a historic turn of events, the United States did not vote in favor of the Cuban embargo for the first time in the history of the United Nations on October 26. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, symbolically abstained from the annual vote, citing the ineffectiveness of the legislation to promote its stated goals. The final tally of the vote this year came in at 191 countries in favor of the embargo resolution, two abstentions (the U.S. and Israel), and zero absences—a rare and virtually unanimous vote. The resolution on the Cuban embargo was initially introduced by the Cuban representative to the General Assembly of the United Nations, Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, in 1991, denouncing the embargo as a violation of international law and an act of economic terrorism against the island nation. Every year since then, the countries of the General Assembly have voted overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution to repeal the embargo. The only nations to consistently vote against the resolution and support the embargo have been the United States and Israel.

The abstention of the United States from the formal vote is the latest in a series of historic steps taken by President Obama over the last two years to normalize relations with Cuba. For Cubans, whose primary official news source covered the vote with live minute-by-minute updates, the public abstention of the the countries which were once the strongest advocates of the embargo represents a validation toward the economic and social hardships Cubans have endured as a result of the embargo for over half a century.

Nonetheless, the effort to repeal the embargo is far from over. The United States Congress has refused to vote on it, maintaining its position that the Cuban government has not done enough to address human rights abuses in the country. Cubans are now looking to the upcoming American presidential election to be the largest determinant of future U.S. policy towards Cuba.