They voted against Cuba's release of political prisoners.
 
 
Wed, 8 Nov 2006 8:08 PM
UNITED NATIONS -
The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to urge the United States to end its 45-year-old trade embargo against Cuba after defeating an amendment calling on Fidel Castro's government to free political prisoners and respect human rights.
It was the 15th straight year that the 192-member world body approved a resolution calling for the U.S. economic and commercial embargo against Cuba to be repealed "as soon as possible."   Cuba's Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told the assembly "the economic war unleashed by the U.S. against Cuba, the longest and most ruthless ever known, qualifies as an act of genocide and constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and the charter of the United Nations."
 
The General Assembly voted on the resolution soon after defeating an amendment by Australia stating that the U.S. laws and measures "were motivated by valid concerns about the continued lack of democracy and political freedom in Cuba."
It also would have called on Cuba to release all political prisoners, cooperate with international human rights bodies, respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and comply with all human rights treaties to which it is a signatory.
Delegates in the General Assembly chamber burst into applause when the vote flashed on the screen — 183 in favor to 4 opposed, with 1 abstention. Joining the United States in voting "no" were Israel and the South Pacific nations of the Marshall Islands and Palau. Micronesia, also in the South Pacific, abstained.  In Cuba, state-run television showed Foreign Ministry officials in Havana cheering when the result was announced.
 
 
 

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