UNITED NATIONS, Oct 29 (APP): Pakistan has renewed it’s call for an end to the American economic embargo against Cuba, a demand the UN General Assembly has made annually since 1992, as the Caribbean region braces for devastation by Hurricane Melissa.
“Such measures — including the extraterritorial application of domestic laws — contravene international law, including the humanitarian and human rights obligations,” Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, told the 193-member Assembly, which began debating the issue on Tuesday.
The General Assembly has repeatedly debated the severe impact of the embargo on the Cuban people, highlighting its negative effects on daily life, human rights, and economic development, and calling on the U.S. to terminate blockade of the country. But the Assembly action has no legal power as only the U.S. Congress can lift the embargo.
In his remarks, Ambassador Asim Ahmad said that Pakistan “stands in solidarity” with Cuba in its sovereign right to pursue their chosen path of development and to ensure access to essential goods such as food, medicine, and technology without restriction.
“The impact that the economic, financial and commercial embargo has had on Cuba and its people is deeply concerning,” the Pakistani envoy said.
Pakistan, he said, believes that international cooperation must rest on the pillars of sovereign equality, mutual respect, and non-interference in the internal affairs of States.
“Resort to unilateral economic measures stands in stark contradiction to these principles, particularly the selective application of such measures on developing countries, driven by political considerations.”
In this regard, he cited the Secretary-General’s report which points to the severe burdens on Cuba’s development trajectory that the embargo had placed.
“The restrictions have significantly constrained the country’s ability to engage in trade, access foreign investment, conduct financial and banking transactions and import essential goods and services,”the report said.
“These limitations have disrupted the normal functioning of the economy, hampered growth and undermined the structural conditions needed for sustainable development, besides the humanitarian consequences of the measures,” it added.
Such actions, Ambassador Asim Ahmad said, run counter to the letter and spirit of the 2030 anti-poverty UN Agenda for Sustainable Development, stressing the need for a different approach
Pakistan, he added, will vote for a resolution, which is before the Assembly, seeking the termination of the American sanctions against Cuba.
“We believe that ending the embargo is a necessary step towards enabling the Cuban people to realize their right to development and prosperity”.