CUBA called on the United States on Wednesday to lift its illegal blockade of the socialist island, as a girl lay dying of cancer for want of US-made drugs.

The country’s UN ambassador in Geneva Anayansi Rodriguez insisted that the US must respect the will of the international community following Tuesday’s 191-2 vote by the general assembly condemning the blockade.

Ms Rodriguez told a monthly meeting of the World Trade Organisation’s disputes settlement body that the blockade was illegal and harmed her country’s economy.