HAVANA, Cuba, Apr 5. Cuba’s representative to the United Nations said in New York nuclear weapons must be completely eliminated and that the international organization should give more priority to disarmament.

Rodolfo Benitez stated the Cuban position when speaking in a session of the Disarmament Commission, Prensa Latina news agency reported.

Benitez denounced the existence of a club of the privileged who continue improving their nuclear weapons while attempting to question the South countries’ inalienable right to use nuclear energy for pacific purposes.

The Cuban representative suggested that the so-called “nuclear dissuasion doctrine” be dropped noting that far from contributing to nuclear disarmament it stimulates the perpetual possession of such weapons.

Benitez said that despite of the  world's deep economic and environmental crisis, military spendinggrew by 49 percent in the last decade amounting to 1.5 trillion dollars.

He mentioned the United States as holding nearly half of the military spending of the world.

With those resources –he said– extreme poverty suffered by 1.4 billion people could be relieved; more than one billion hungry people could be fed and the death of 11 million children could be prevented.

Benitez also mentioned the occurrence of unjustified wars such as that of Libya.

The Cuban representative advocated a new world order based on human solidarity and justice and in which conflicts were resolved through dialogue and negotiation on non-interfering and equality grounds.

As an example of the threat posed to the world by the use of nuclear weapons, Benitez said the explosion of 100 warheads could bring about the nuclear winter in just a few hours.

As part of the strict fulfillment of its international obligations, Cuba has an efficient, predictable and reliable for the implementation in the country of international agreements such as the Treaty for Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Treaty for the Proscription of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Cuba is a signatory of 13 conventions and international protocols in relation to terrorism, including the International Convention for the Repression of Nuclear Terrorism Acts, according to the official website of the Cuban Ministry for Foreign Affairs. (acn)