Unilateral coercive measures strongly opposed: UN envoy

The unilateral coercive measures and the resulting "chilling effect "are important causes of the deterioration of the global humanitarian situation that cannot be ignored and significantly harm many developing countries, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations.

China firmly opposes all illegal unilateral coercive measures, Geng told the UN Security Council Arriaformula Meeting on the humanitarian impact of unilateral coercive measures, or UCMs, on Monday.

Geng pointed out that UCMs, imposed without Security Council authorization, override a country's laws over international law and the laws of other nations, and severely infringe on the fundamental human rights of the affected populations, including their rights to survival, development, and health.

Such measures negatively affect many developing countries, including Cuba, the DPRK, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Venezuela, he said.

Geng emphasized that as a key member of the Global South and a victim of unilateral coercive measures, China consistently stands with developing countries, justice, international law, and multilateralism, and resolutely opposes all illegal unilateral coercive measures.

Geng stated that UCMs severely restrict the development potential of many countries. These measures, including financial embargoes, trade restrictions, and "long-arm jurisdiction", significantly hinder international trade, damage economies, and affect the provision of necessities like food, energy, and medicine.

Vulnerable groups, especially women and children, suffer the most, he pointed out. For example, the US' six-decade-plus embargo on Cuba has caused the country hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses. In Syria, long-term sanctions have severely hampered living conditions, with 90 percent of the population now living below the poverty line.

Blatant violation

Geng said that some Western politicians openly admit to using unilateral sanctions as "economic warfare", aiming to create economic hardship and humanitarian disasters to incite chaos in targeted countries, thereby stalling local development, exerting political pressure, and even attempting regime change. This is akin to using hunger, disease, and poverty as weapons to impose "collective punishment" on civilians, a blatant violation of international humanitarian and human rights laws, Geng added.

Over the past few decades, the UN General Assembly has passed more than a hundred resolutions opposing UCMs and urging the US to end its embargo against Cuba. On Oct 30, the General Assembly once again passed a similar resolution with an overwhelming majority of 187 votes in favor, 2 against (the US and Israel), and 1 abstention. This marks the 32nd consecutive year that the international community has voiced its collective stance.

yangran1@chinadaily.com.cn