China: US embargo against Cuba unreasonable

The international community is faced with multiple serious challenges, which makes the US sanctions and embargo against Cuba “all the more unreasonable”, Wang Min, Chinese deputy representative to the UN said here Tuesday.

Wang made the remarks as he addressed the UN General Assembly on voting the resolution, which calls for an end of US embargo on Cuba.   

Wang said that the resolutions adopted in the past 19 consecutive years have not been effectively implemented, and the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba imposed by the United States is yet to be lifted.

“Such practice has not only severely violated the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the relevant resolutions, but has also inflicted enormous economic and financial losses on Cuba,” Wang said.

Furthermore, sanctions and embargo have severely impeded the efforts by the Cuban people to eradicate poverty, promote economic and social development and achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Wang noted.

“They have violated the basic human rights of the Cuban people to food, health and education and their right to survival and development, and affected the normal economic, commercial and financial interactions between other countries and Cuba,” he added.

Wang stressed that at present, the international community is faced with multiple serious challenges such as the financial, food and energy crises as well as climate change, which make the sanctions and embargo against Cuba all the more unreasonable.

“China hopes the US to follow the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the relevant resolutions and terminate its embargo against Cuba as soon as possible,” he said. “China also hopes that the relationship between the US and Cuba will constantly improve so as to promote the stability and development in Latin America and the Caribbean region.”