United Nations, 30 October 2024. The Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations intervened in the debate prior to the vote on the draft resolution ‘Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba’.
‘Jamaica continues to believe that this blockade is a flagrant violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. We join the international community in calling for the removal of this decades-old blockade of Cuba, a blockade that continues to inflict wounds on the Cuban economy, preventing its development projects from being realised,’ he said.
He also pointed out that the blockade hinders the progress of the Cuban development plan and the achievement of the goals of the 2030 Agenda.
‘This blockade has also hindered Cuba's intention to fight against climate change and other regional and global programmes, the empowerment of women in the country, and has undermined financial and economic activities with other nations,’ he said.’
He stated that it is very clear that the blockade has undermined Cuba's capacity to respond to exogenous shocks such as hurricanes, where the most recent one left multiple damages in the eastern region of the country and left six people dead.
‘It has also aggravated the energy, health and other crises that have had consequences for vulnerable groups in the country. It has exacerbated the country's challenges in keeping its power system functioning,’ he said.
The Jamaican representative also denounced that Cuba's unreasonable inclusion on the list of state sponsors of terrorism makes it difficult for other countries and foreign companies to engage in normal relations with the nation.
‘For example, oil companies need to make extra charges to Cuba to limit the risks,’ he said, which raises the costs of the island's trade activities.
He reiterated that the international community has been calling for an end to the blockade since 1991 and since 1992 has voted in support of the resolution calling for an end to the blockade.
‘Jamaica is in favour of the repeated call to remove Cuba from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, as this limits Cuba's ability to participate in cooperation and support mechanisms in the region’.
He highlighted Cuba's progress and leadership in the area of science and research and its efforts to promote South-South cooperation and called for the blockade to be lifted so that Cuba can be fully included in the international community.
‘Until that happens, Cuba is deprived of opportunities to participate in the vision of a prosperous and sustainable world where no one is left behind.
‘In this world, where multilateralism is under great pressure, we have a unique opportunity to restore faith in multilateralism by restoring to Cuba the right it deserves to live without a blockade,’ he said.