Remarks on Unilateral Coercive Measures by China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Fu Cong at the UN General Assembly Plenary Meeting

President,

China thanks you for convening this debate, and associates itself with the statements made by Iraq on behalf of G77 and China and by Venezuela on behalf of the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter.

Today's world is plagued with rampant unilateralism and the law of the jungle and raging unilateral coercive measures. As we mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN, the proposal by the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter to establish an International Day Against Unilateral Coercive Measures carries great significance. History has proven that UCMs are one of the culprits for international turbulence and disarray in world order. The international community must remain clear-headed, strengthen unity and cooperation, and firmly curb and stop such unlawful practices. China calls on all countries to support this draft resolution and to join forces in defense of multilateralism and international fairness and justice. I would like to share a few points. 

UCMs contravene the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and undermine the foundation of multilateralism and international rule of law. The UN Charter laid the cornerstone of post-war international order and established basic norms of international relations such as sovereign equality and peaceful settlement of disputes. However, UCMs flagrantly place the domestic laws of one country above international law and the laws of other countries and trample on the principle of sovereign equality, willfully impose sanctions without authorization from the Security Council, in disregard of the authority of the Council's collective decision-making mechanism, and replace dialogue and consultation with coercion and power politics, thus running counter to the spirit of multilateralism and international cooperation.

UCMs violate the basic human rights of other countries and cause systemic humanitarian disasters. Under the pretext of so-called protecting human rights, a few Western countries arbitrarily impose unilateral coercive measures on other countries, severely violating the basic human rights of the people of targeted countries, such as their rights to life, health, and development. In Cuba, the over 60-year-long embargo by the US has caused hundreds of billions of dollars in losses. UCMs and the resulting secondary sanctions and over-compliance reduce the humanitarian exemptions of UN Security Council sanctions to empty words on paper, and cripple humanitarian assistance. The UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on the negative impacts of UCMs on the enjoyment of human rights has pointed out that unilateral sanctions have led to shortages of health care services, medication, and energy in sanctioned countries, with vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly facing particularly dire circumstances. 

UCMs rupture global development cooperation and severely halt the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Development is a universal right for all countries, and all countries should equally enjoy the benefits of development. However, UCMs such as financial embargo, trade restrictions, and long-arm jurisdiction are severely obstructing international economic, trade, and technological cooperation, severely impacting the multilateral trade system centered on the WTO and the global economic order, and severely jeopardizing the stability of global industrial and supply chains. They are exacerbating global food and energy crises, among others, and widening the wealth gap and the South-North divide. UCMs have dealt a heavy blow to many countries originally with huge development potentials, making their achievement of SDGs even more elusive.

President,

A few Western countries have instrumentalized and weaponized UCMs in an attempt to rationalize and legitimize the law of the jungle. This is unilateralism, hegemony, and power politics through and through. Such illegal practices harm others and will eventually backfire, and will surely be cast aside by history.

Over the past few decades, the General Assembly has adopted over 100 resolutions opposing UCMs, highlighting their negative impact on human rights and urging the US to lift its embargo on Cuba. We call on a few Western countries to heed the just calls of the international community, honor their commitments to upholding the UN Charter and international law, and immediately, unconditionally, and completely lift all UCMs. We also call on member states, the UN system, and other international organizations to jointly oppose such unlawful practices and help targeted countries mitigate their plight. 

As an important member of the Global South and a victim of UCMs, China always stands on the side of fairness and justice, on the side of multilateralism, and on the side of developing countries. China will work with all parties to jointly push back the regressive tide of unilateralism and hegemony, jointly uphold the international system with the UN at its core and the international order based on international law, and jointly promote the development of global governance in a more just and equitable direction, so as to promote shared peace, stability, development, and prosperity for the entire humanity.

I thank you, President.