P-49 UN asks US to lift embargo on Cuba for the 15 th year in a row

U.N. urges U.S. to end Cuba embargo 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the 192-member world body approved a resolution calling for the U.S. economic and commercial embargo against Cuba to be repealed "as soon as possible.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."

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.

The sanctions, aimed at toppling Castro's socialist system, were imposed after Castro repelled the CIA-backed assault at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. The embargo has been steadily tightened under President Bush.

UPDATE: '06 Nov 12
Castro's health is deteriorating