Trevor Sargent
Question:2 Mr. Sargent asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason for Ireland's abstention on the United Nations General Assembly vote to end the US economic blockade of Cuba.
Ceisteanna—Questions Written Answers. - US Economic Blockade of Cuba.
The US embargo on all political, economic and commercial relations between the United States and Cuba was instituted in 1962. The embargo does not preclude other countries from developing trade and commercial links with Cuba, nor has it prevented the provision of humanitarian aid to Cuba.
The US "Cuban Democracy Act" of 1992, however, introduced a new extraterritorial dimension to the embargo. Ireland is opposed to this. We have made this clear to the United States and, together with our partners in the European Union, we took the opportunity of the recent vote at the UN General Assembly to restate our opposition to the Act and to reject American actions designed to implicate third countries in US commercial measures.
I regret both the continuing poor relations between the United States and Cuba and the circumstances which underlie that situation. I have already said in relation to this issue that it is my hope that the changes that have taken place in international politics in recent years will create the conditions for an end to Cold War animosities everywhere.
Ireland abstained on the recent resolution in the UN General Assembly because we believe that this situation is better addressed as a bilateral matter between the United States and Cuba rather than being made the subject of a motion amounting to censure in a multilateral world forum such as the UN General Assembly.