For the first time in a quarter-century, the United States abstained Wednesday in the annual United Nations vote condemning the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.
Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that the embargo was fully within international law but that it was “a perfect example of why the U.S. policy of isolation toward Cuba was not working.” She said that “instead of isolating Cuba . . . our policy isolated the United States, including here at the United Nations.”
Each year, the U.N. General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to urge the United States to end its economic embargo of the island. In 2015, the vote was 191 to 2, with only Israel joining in a vote against the measure. Israel joined the United States in abstaining this year, making the final vote 191 in favor, with no votes in opposition.
Last year, after its reestablishment of U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba, the Obama administration said it was prepared, for the first time, to abstain in the vote, provided Cuba agreed to minor changes to soften the harsh wording of the resolution. The administration argued that President Obama had used his executive authority to chip away at many of the restrictions but that only Congress could fully repeal the embargo, first adopted in 1962 and strengthened in 1992 and 1996.
Cuba refused, saying that as long as the embargo remained U.S. law, there was no point in softening the wording of condemnation.
Obama has repeatedly called on lawmakers to lift the sanctions.