United Nations, September 23 (PL-RHC) -- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez told a UN forum on population and development that the prevailing system of international relations is unjust and inequitable because of its negative impact on the South.

Speaking at the special event of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the two decades of the 1994 Cairo Conference, the diplomat warned about the increase in the gap between rich and poor nations, and the further concentration of wealth in the industrialized world.

Rodriguez also noted that systemic and multidimensional crisis generated in the north of the planet is felt more strongly in developing countries, where most of the world's population and poverty are concentrated.

"Millions of human beings, particularly in the South, who are victims of hunger and illiteracy, lack access to basic health services and adequate housing.”

Another example of the unfairness of the present order is that the richest nations are plundering non-renewable resources of the planet and imposing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption.

Such a scenario worsens climate change and threatens the preservation of our species, he warned at the event held in connection with the 20th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development, hosted in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, where an action plan was adopted to promote people-centered progress.

Rodriguez highlighted the effectiveness of the initiatives taken in Cairo and commitment to maintain the island beyond 2014 development goals set then.

"The Cuban Revolution ensures the exercise of all human rights of its people, including the right to sexual and reproductive health including family planning, education and equality between women and men."

In this regard, he said Cuba continues to give special importance to these issues, despite the damage from the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States over the last half century.