Kumar Bahukhandi
Electronic screens display the voting results after the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for an end to the US embargo on Cuba, with 130 votes in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions, at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. (Photo: Seth Wenig/AP)
General Assembly adopts resolution with 130 votes in favour; India opposes measures that undermine other nations’ sovereignty
Key Highlights
- India supported the resolution seeking an end to the US economic, commercial and financial embargo on Cuba.
- The measure received 130 votes in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions.
- Indian diplomat Soumya Nair urged respect for sovereignty, the UN Charter and international law.
- The vote followed a heated diplomatic confrontation between Cuban and US representatives.
New York: India voted in favour of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the longstanding US embargo on Cuba, reaffirming its opposition to measures that undermine other countries’ sovereignty and development. The resolution was adopted on Wednesday, October 28, with 130 votes in favour, 17 against and 25 abstentions.
Addressing the Assembly before the vote, Soumya Nair, a counsellor at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN, reiterated New Delhi’s support for the removal of restrictions affecting Cuba’s economic and social progress.
She said India opposed laws whose effects extend beyond national borders and adversely affect the sovereignty of other states and the well-being of their people.
Nair urged countries to refrain from applying such measures and to repeal or invalidate them in keeping with their obligations under the UN Charter and international law.
Reaffirming India’s commitment to multilateralism, she emphasised dialogue and diplomacy as the means to address international challenges. India expressed hope that lifting the embargo would enable Cuba’s people to participate more fully in international cooperation and pursue their development aspirations.
The vote followed a tense confrontation during Tuesday’s proceedings, when Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla approached the dais while US Permanent Representative Mike Waltz was speaking. Proceedings were briefly suspended to restore order.
Although the resolution secured a substantial majority, support declined from the previous year, when 165 countries voted in favour, seven opposed it and 12 abstained. The General Assembly’s vote expresses international political opposition to the embargo; it does not itself remove the US restrictions.
