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UN elects Richard Tur to its budget committee days after the US expelled him

Cuba's foreign ministry hails the diplomat's election by acclamation as "a victory for Cuba"; 14ymedio notes there were 10 candidates for 10 seats, and the United States told the General Assembly it was rewarding an official expelled on October 29.

The United Nations General Assembly approved by acclamation on Friday the election of Cuban diplomat Richard Tur de la Concepción as an expert on the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) for the 2027-2029 term. That subsidiary body of the Assembly is made up of 21 experts who review the organisation's budgets and advise on financial and administrative matters.

The election comes only days after the United States expelled Tur. On October 27, during the debate on Cuba's resolution against the embargo, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and several members of his delegation interrupted a speech by US ambassador Mike Waltz with shouting and banging on the tables. Tur pushed a member of the Washington delegation and tried to knock away the phone he was using to film the scene. The State Department confirmed that the Cuban diplomat left the country on October 29.

The term would begin on January 1, 2027, but his ability to take it up would be compromised if Washington maintains its entry ban: the committee meets for about 44 weeks a year and requires a continuous presence in New York. The United Nations Headquarters Agreement, signed in 1947, obliges the United States to facilitate access for experts on official missions, though there are precedents for refusals, such as the visa denied in 2014 to the Iranian named as ambassador to the UN.

Sources: Cubadebate · 14ymedio · Martí Noticias

Data updated: 2026-11-07T04:15:00.000Z

UN elects Richard Tur to its budget committee days after the US expelled him | Yamacoa Observatory