Speaking on behalf of the African coalition before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Mali’s representative rejected the effects of the punitive measures imposed by Washington against the island.

The speaker noted that the situation in the largest of the Antilles has worsened since the adoption of resolution A-80SL on this same issue in October 2025.

“At that time—following 33 consecutive years of such calls—an overwhelming majority of this Assembly, specifically 165 member states, once again demanded an end to the blockade. A call that has gone unheeded,” he stated.

Instead, he remarked, the response to that call has been to tighten the very measures this Assembly has been rejecting for over three decades.

He further recalled that on January 29, a United States decree established tariffs against any country supplying oil or other products to Cuba; this compounds the existing encirclement and amounts to a global blockade by compelling third-party states to participate in enforcing that policy.

The official cited how UN human rights experts have described the decree as a serious violation of international law, while the UN Secretary-General has warned of its humanitarian consequences and called for dialogue and respect for international law and international human rights standards. “The African Group shares this alarm.”

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