United Nations, Oct 28, (RHC), -- In his intervention at the 69th session of the United Nations General Assembly which debated today a resolution on the necessity to end US sanctions on Cuba, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla decried the strengthening of the US economic, financial and trade blockade imposed on Cuba for over half a decade.

"It is a fact that, in recent times, the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba has been tightened and that its extraterritorial implementation in all regions of the world have also been strengthened, in particular through the application of huge and unprecedented fines amounting to 11 billion dollars against 38 banks, among them the French bank BNP Paribas, for doing transactions with Cuba and other countries."

"The human damages caused by the blockade are on the rise.  The number of Cubans who have been born under these circumstances already account for 77 per cent of the population.  The hardships of our families can not be accounted for."

Rodriguez said that besides violating international law and the principles of the UN charter, the US blockade can be considered an act of genocide as it violates the human rights of an entire nation.

"Although our health and social care systems manage to prevent the loss of human lives, no honest person, whether in the United States or the world, could condone the devastating consequences of the blockade."

However, he stressed that the peoples of the United States and Cuba have always had close links.

"Despite the old tensions and the attempts by violent extremists and terrorist groups of encouraging them, there has not been any war nor has any young American died in Cuba.  Cuba, despite being slandered, has never been a threat to the national security of the United States."

"There isn’t any hostility between our peoples. Cuba hospitably welcomes the few Americans who are allowed by their government to visit our country or who face the legal risks that might result from doing it, as well as those who come to offer humanitarian assistance, such as the members of “Pastors for Peace”, or to study Medicine."

There are well known opinion polls showing the increasing and majority support from absolutely all sectors of the US society that favor the lifting of the blockade and the normalization of bilateral relations. 

"American citizens are claiming for the freedom of traveling to the only place in the planet where they are prevented from doing so, as well as for the right to receive direct and personal information about the Cuban reality."

"Entrepreneurial organizations and business people believe that the blockade harms their economic interests. The majority public opinion is opposed to maintaining the current state of affairs and is expressing so in an ever more critical way."

"The blockade is harmful to Cuba but it is also harmful to the United States."

The Cuban Foreign Minister also criticized the absurd and ridiculous inclusion of Cuba in the list of States that sponsor international terrorism, which has been used to justify the imposition of additional financial sanctions on the Caribbean island.

Furthermore, Rodiguez invited the government of the United States to engage in a process of dialogue on equal terms and to work towards the normalization of relations, a decision he noted would be welcomed by the international community as a whole.

"We invite the government of the United States to establish a mutually respectful relation, based on reciprocity, sovereign equality, the principles of International Law and the UN Charter."

"We can try to find a solution to our differences through a respectful dialogue and cooperation in areas of common interest.  We can live and deal with each other in a civilized way, despite our differences."

"President Barack Obama has been entrusted with all the constitutional prerogatives, without requiring the support of the Congress, to modify some crucial aspects of the blockade and introduce a new and decisive dynamic in bilateral relations."

"The decision of lifting the blockade will be welcomed at the global level and will become a unitary influence in the interest of peace and the peaceful settlement of conflicts and differences."