China urges end to US embargo against Cuba at UN debate

China on Tuesday voiced support for Cuba at a UN General Assembly debate on the decades-long US economic, commercial and financial embargo against the Caribbean country, saying the measures have caused serious hardship for the Cuban people and should be brought to an end.

The General Assembly voted earlier on Tuesday to proceed with the debate by 136 votes in favor, nine against and 30 abstentions, despite opposition from the United States.

Speaking at the debate, Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said China supported the convening of the meeting and voted in favor of holding it. The 136 votes in favor "fully demonstrated the aspiration of the international community and the call for justice", he said.

The debate, convened at the request of Cuba, focused on "the necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba". The General Assembly last held its regular annual debate on the issue on Oct 28 and 29.

Fu said the United States has, for more than 60 years, imposed an economic blockade and unilateral sanctions on Cuba, "causing enormous suffering to the Cuban state and people".

"Cuba has suffered accumulated losses of more than $170 billion as a result of the blockade, while hospitals, schools, water supply systems, grain storage facilities and other infrastructure related to people's livelihood have come under severe pressure," he said.

Cuba is facing serious fuel shortages, a worsening electricity and energy crisis, and continued obstruction in the supply of medicines, medical equipment and other essential goods, with vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women bearing a heavy impact, Fu said.

Cuba, which depends heavily on fuel imports, has received only one oil tanker in the past six months, the Russian vessel Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying about 100,000 metric tons of crude oil, Xinhua News Agency reported. The country needs about eight fuel tankers a month to maintain normal operations.

"Such acts violate the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including sovereign equality, the peaceful settlement of international disputes and the prohibition of the use or threat of force," Fu said.

They also "infringe upon the Cuban people's rights to subsistence and development, and undermine the international order based on international law and the basic norms governing international relations", he said.

"China urges the United States to stop its blockade against Cuba and all forms of coercive pressure, and to stop infringing upon the Cuban people's rights to subsistence and development," Fu said.

Fu called on the international community to support Cuba in safeguarding sovereignty, equality and national dignity, and to jointly resist illegal blockades, sanctions and military threats.

He said countries should uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, adhere to sovereign equality, oppose interference in internal affairs, adhere to the peaceful settlement of disputes and oppose the use of force.

Fu also called for opposition to all illegal unilateral sanctions, saying unilateral sanctions without authorization from the UN Security Council "have no basis in international law and damage the sovereignty and security of other countries".

"The international community should safeguard the Cuban people's rights to subsistence and development, and urge relevant countries to implement General Assembly resolutions, immediately terminate all kinds of sanctions and secondary sanctions against Cuba, refrain from frequently threatening sanctions, and protect the Cuban people's right to pursue a better life," Fu said.

Fu said international fairness and justice concern the survival and development of all countries. In the face of hegemonism and power politics, no country can remain immune, he said.

"No country can appoint itself as an international policeman, nor can any country style itself as an international judge," Fu said.

"The Chinese people empathize with the suffering of the Cuban people and China will, as always, provide Cuba with support and assistance within its capacity," Fu said.

He called on countries and UN agencies to step up humanitarian assistance to Cuba, help address shortages of fuel, food and medicines, ease the crisis facing the Cuban people and safeguard the bottom line of international humanitarianism.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla welcomed the Assembly's decision to hold the debate, saying Cuba rejects the claim that it represents a threat to the United States and condemns Washington's policy of hostility and aggression.

"Cuba is not a threat. Cuba is the nation that is under threat," said Parrilla, noting Cuba's commitment to "peace, international law, multilateralism, truth and justice".

Speaking on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, Laura Dupuy Lasserre, Uruguay's permanent representative to the UN, said the embargo "affects all the critical sectors of the Cuban economy, including public health, nutrition and agriculture, as well as trade, investment, tourism and banking."

"The Group therefore calls for the immediate, complete and unconditional lifting of the embargo, including all measures with extraterritorial effects," she said. "Ending these restrictions is essential not only for Cuba's development and the well-being of its people, but also for upholding the Charter, international law and the credibility of multilateralism."

minluzhang@chinadailyusa.com