United Nations, Oct 28 (IANS) India on Wednesday reiterated its rejection of laws that “adversely affect the sovereignty” of other countries as it voted for a General Assembly resolution demanding an end to the US embargo on Cuba.
Soumya Nair, a counsellor in India’s UN Mission, said New Delhi backs the Assembly’s call to all countries to reject “laws and regulations with extraterritorial effects that adversely affect the sovereignty of other states and the progress and prosperity of their peoples”.
Speaking before the Assembly voted on the resolution asking the US to end the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba, she said, “India reiterates the Assembly’s call to all states to refrain from promulgating and applying, and to repeal and invalidate such laws and measures in conformity with their obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and International Law”.
The resolution was carried with 130 votes to 17, with 25 abstentions, after a drama on the floor of the Assembly chamber on Tuesday when Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla charged up to the dais to confront US Permanent Representative Mike Waltz as he was speaking.
Assembly President Khalilur Rahman briefly suspended the proceeding to restore order.
The drama continued on Wednesday when the US expelled the Cuban mission’s First Secretary Richard Tur de la Concepcion for allegedly physically tangling with a US diplomat during the confrontation, according to Waltz.
He said, “If you lay a hand on an American diplomat in this body, there will be consequences”.
“That so-called diplomat today will be put on a plane back to Havana”, he said without identifying the diplomat, who was identified by Cuba.
The confrontation took place as Waltz was speaking of the alleged corruption by Cuba’s leaders.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, was critical of the Cuban conduct.
He said at his Wednesday briefing, “We expect every delegation to respect the decorum of the General Assembly’s hall and to respect the rules and procedures of the General Assembly”.
UN Safety and Security deployed more personnel than usual, and “They did a great job in ensuring that the situation did not get out of hand”, he added.
Nair said, “India’s commitment to multilateralism is rooted in our belief that international challenges are best addressed through dialogue and diplomacy in accordance with the UN Charter”.
“It is in this spirit that India hopes that the embargo will be lifted at the earliest, to help create an environment that would enable the people of Cuba to participate more fully in international cooperation and pursue their legitimate development aspirations”, she said.
She noted that because of the embargo “Cuba’s health system faces shortages of over 60 per cent of essential medicines, while food production has declined by more than 50 per cent over the past five years”.
The recently tightened restrictions on fuel exports to Cuba have “disrupted essential services, including healthcare, education, water supplies, food distribution and transportation”, she said.
–IANS
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