Obama: ‘Embargo should not be in place anymore’

Excerpts from speech delivered Monday (Sept. 28) at the United Nations General Assembly by President Barack Obama.

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I believe that the future we must seek together to believe in the dignity of every individual, to believe we can bridge our differences and choose cooperation over conflict. That is not weakness, that is strength. […]

I also believe that to move forward in this new era, we have to be strong enough to acknowledge when what you are doing is not working. For 50 years, the United States pursued a Cuban policy that failed to improve the lives of the Cuban people. We changed that. We continue to have differences with the Cuban government, we will continue to stand up for human rights, but we address these issues through diplomatic relations and increased commerce. And people-to-people ties.

As these contacts yield progress, I am confident that our Congress will inevitably left an embargo that should not be in place anymore.(APPLAUSE)

Change won’t come overnight to Cuba, but I am confident that openness, not coercion, will support reforms and better the life of the Cuban people. Just as I believe that Cuba will find it success if it improves cooperation with other nations. […]

Think of the Americans who lowered the flag over our embassy in Havana in 1961, the year I was born, and returned this summer to raise that flag back up. (APPLAUSE)

One of these men said of the Cuban people, “We could do things for them and they could do things for us, we love them.” For 50 years, we ignored that fact.