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this article is reproduced from [xinhuanet];

xinhua news agency, geneva, september 15th news | raise the voice of justice and defend human rights together - several developing countries work together at the united nations to fight back against unilateral sanctions by the united states and the west

xinhua news agency reporter shi song

"the countries imposing sanctions deny the humanitarian impact of unilateral sanctions, which is often catastrophic." on the 13th, at an interactive dialogue at the 57th session of the un human rights council, alena duhane, the un human rights council's special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on human rights, said this.

in the report submitted to the current human rights council, du han stated that unilateral sanctions against china by the united states and other countries violated international law, had a negative impact on the human rights of the chinese people and produced spillover effects. he welcomed china's response through necessary administrative, legal and other means, and called for systematic monitoring and assessment of the harm of unilateral coercive measures to human rights in various countries.

in recent years, the united states has introduced a series of unilateral coercive measures against china, such as restricting the export of semiconductors and key technologies, and sanctioning and suppressing some chinese companies. globally, the united states has imposed extensive economic and financial sanctions on iran, north korea, russia, venezuela and other countries, restricting their trade, energy exports and banking business, etc., trying to influence the policy direction of these countries through isolation and suppression.

as a country concerned in the report, china expressed appreciation for du han's report. the chinese representative pointed out that unilateral sanctions seriously violate the purposes and principles of the un charter, seriously violate the basic norms of international relations, and seriously infringe on human rights. china has always firmly opposed them. the united states has a poor human rights record, but it often abuses long-arm jurisdiction based on domestic law, completely violating human rights in the name of democracy and human rights. china urges the united states and other countries to listen carefully to the just calls of the international community and immediately lift all illegal unilateral sanctions against developing countries.

du han's report and china's speech resonated at the interactive dialogue. in the face of the sophistry made by the us representative, representatives of many developing countries spoke out one after another and joined china in refuting the abuse of unilateral sanctions by the united states and other western countries.

representatives of russia and venezuela pointed out that the unilateral sanctions imposed by the united states are a gross interference in the internal affairs of other countries. this practice is not based on respect for freedom, but is simply an attempt to gain benefits from unfair competition through lies and coercion.

the cuban representative pointed out that the long-term blockade imposed by the united states on cuba has had a great negative impact on the lives of the cuban people, and the frozen funds could have been used to meet the food and medical needs of the cuban people. in addition, there is no basis for re-listing cuba on the list of "countries supporting terrorism" from both a moral and legal perspective.

the representative of zimbabwe pointed out that although some unilateral sanctions claim to target only the governments of certain countries, their impact has affected a large number of ordinary people and businesses, and spread to neighboring countries in the region and other parts of the world. unilateral sanctions directly undermine the political, economic and social stability of various countries and hinder the realization of the sustainable development goals.

the representative of belarus pointed out that some western countries use unilateral sanctions as a tool to achieve geopolitical goals, which has a disastrous impact on the people and business environment of the sanctioned countries, seriously infringes on human rights and violates international law.

iran’s representative called for greater attention to the additional impact and cumulative humanitarian costs of unilateral sanctions and supported the special rapporteur’s efforts to establish a universally inclusive, systematic, transparent and evidence-based mechanism to assess the humanitarian consequences of those sanctions.

the representatives of laos and cambodia pointed out that unilateral sanctions have hindered efforts to eliminate poverty and achieve the sustainable development goals, seriously affected basic human rights including the right to development, violated international law and the basic principles of the united nations, and undermined the norms of international diplomacy and cooperation.

the representatives of palestine and syria pointed out that there is growing evidence that the humanitarian consequences of unilateral sanctions are becoming increasingly serious, which has put the united nations humanitarian work in a difficult situation, exacerbated poverty and hunger, and made the most vulnerable groups more vulnerable.

the representatives of south africa and togo pointed out that unilateral sanctions violated the un charter, the universal declaration of human rights and international humanitarian law, and that international cooperation and constructive long-term dialogue remained the most effective means of resolving disputes.

developing countries such as the non-aligned movement, the african group, the group of like-minded countries and the group of friends of the un charter have also expressed similar positions, forming a strong momentum to oppose illegal unilateral sanctions.