U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed a U.N. resolution that condemned the American embargo of Cuba Wednesday, describing the debate as a “shiny object” used to distract U.N. attention from its grave human rights abuses.
“For over 55 years, the Cuban regime has used this debate in the United Nations General Assembly as a shiny object to distract the world’s attention from the destruction it has inflicted on its own people and on others in the Western Hemisphere,” Haley said.
According to Reuters, the 193-member General Assembly voted for the non-binding measure 191-2, with only Israel supporting the U.S. In 2016, the Obama administration abstained as a sign of its attitude of openness to Cuba – an attitude that the Trump administration has rejected. Haley made it clear that the American people had ushered in change, and that would be reflected in policy on Cuba:
They have chosen a new president, and he has chosen a new ambassador to the United Nations. As long as the Cuban people continue to be deprived of their human rights and fundamental freedoms – as long as the proceeds from trade with Cuba go to prop up the dictatorial regime responsible for denying those rights – the United States does not fear isolation in this chamber or anywhere else. Our principles are not up for a vote.
Haley focused on the human rights abuses ongoing in the country and noted the remarks of former Ambassador Adlai Stevenson, who remarked, “This is the first time … I have ever heard it said that the crime is not the burglar but the discovery of the burglar.”
“Today, the crime is the Cuban government’s continued repression of its people and failure to meet even the minimum requirements of a free and just society,” Haley said. “Our response has been to stand with the Cuban people and their right to determine their own future.”
She also accused the Castro regime of trying to pass the blame for the sad state of affairs in Cuba.
“The Cuban regime is sending the warped message to the world that the sad state of its economy, the oppression of its people, and the export of its destructive ideology is not its fault,” she said.
Haley has been critical of the U.N. for its obsession with the alleged violations by Israel and the U.S. while it ignores real human rights abuses in countries like Venezuela and Cuba, both countries that sit on the controversial Human Rights Council.
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY.
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