HAVANA.- Cuba denounced at the United Nations in Geneva that the US economic, commercial and financial blockade against the island is the main obstacle to the right to development of the people.

During a speech at the 19th Period of Sessions of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the right to development, Cuban representative, Pablo Berti said that the blockade continues to be applied against the island, inflicting damages and scarcity to the population and is an obstacle to the development of our economy.

According to Prensa Latina News Agency, after characterizing the hostile policy as a violation of International Law, whose extraterritorial reach affects the interests of all States, the Cuban diplomat called on the international community to continue supporting Havana in its fight against the blockade.

Berti defended that the right to development is universal and inalienable, that corresponds to individuals and peoples: “it is a collective right that we must all enjoy”, he said.

However, the Cuban diplomat pointed out that the profound economic crisis that is affecting all the countries in the world, its enormous social implications and unequal exchange in trade, constitutes, among others, some of the main obstacles that on an international level goes against the right to development.

According to the Cuban representative, these obstacles worsens on a daily basis the suffering of thousands of millions of people that still live in poverty and underdevelopment, in all parts of the world.

“Cuba reaffirms that if there were political commitment of the developed nations and with relatively little resources, much can be done for the right to development for thousands of millions of people”, he concluded.