Principle of Non-Intervention

Introduction Presumably, in November 2024, within the framework of the General Assembly session, Cuba will once again submit a resolution for a vote emphasising the “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”. This is an opportune moment to analyse whether the overwhelming support of the international community for this text over decades has had any impact on customary international law regarding unilateral economic sanctions. International law allows the adoption of economic measures in bilateral relations between States or by international organisations against third States, which can be justified as countermeasures, retorsions, or within the framework of the international obligations of such international organisations (see here and here). It is an undeniable fact that efforts to present the United Nations Security Council as the sole organ of the international community with the authority to adopt or authorise coercive economic measures in the form of “sanctions” have failed. Practice clearly shows that States and international organisations do…