Obama no longer defending America at UN. Refuses to vote against UN condemnation of Cuba embargo

On October 26, 2016, the United States abstained from voting on the annual UN General Assembly resolution condemning the U.S.'s economic embargo on Cuba for the first time since the resolution was introduced in 1992. Previously, the United States always voted against the resolution. Israel, which traditionally votes on the Cuban embargo resolution with the United States, also abstained.

The resolution was adopted by a vote of 191 in favor, 0 against, 2 abstentions (Israel and the United States).

The U.S. embargo is intended to sanction Cuba for its ongoing human rights violations, detailed annually by the US State Department human rights reports.

The UN General Assembly resolution, however, condemns not Cuba but the United States.

In explaining the U.S. abstention, U.S.-UN Ambassador Samantha Power was apologetic to the entire assembly of world nations about the human rights record of the United States. She likened respect for human rights and freedoms in America to that of the communist dictatorship.

In her words:

"[T]he Cuban people – like all people – are entitled to basic human rights, such as the right to speak their minds without fear, and the right to assemble, organize, and protest peacefully...Let me be among the first to acknowledge – as our Cuban counterparts often point out – that the United States has work to do in fulfilling these rights for our own citizens."