A Chinese envoy on Monday called for efforts to put an end to unilateral coercive measures, saying they undermine the foundation of multilateralism and international rule of law.
Fu Cong, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations stressed during a UN General Assembly debate that unilateral coercive measures run counter to the spirit of multilateralism and international cooperation as they place the domestic laws of one country above international law and the laws of other countries and trample on the principle of sovereign equality.
He added that unilateral coercive measures also disregard the authority of the Security Council’s collective decision-making mechanism and replace dialogue and consultation with coercion and power politics. Furthermore, unilateral coercive measures violate the basic human rights of other countries and cause systemic humanitarian disasters, Fu stated.
He criticized some Western countries’ unilateral coercive measures, saying under the pretext of protecting human rights, their measures severely violated the basic human rights of the people of targeted countries, such as their rights to life, health and development.
Fu emphasized that unilateral coercive measures rupture global development cooperation and severely halt the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Unilateral coercive measures, such as financial embargoes, trade restrictions and long-arm jurisdiction, severely obstruct international economic, trade, and technological cooperation, severely impact the multilateral trade system and the global economic order, and severely jeopardize the stability of global industrial and supply chains, he noted.
“They are exacerbating global food and energy crises, among others, and widening the wealth gap and the South-North divide. Unilateral coercive measures have dealt a heavy blow to many countries originally with huge development potentials, making their achievement of Sustainable Development Goals even more elusive,” said Fu.
He noted that a few Western countries have instrumentalized and weaponized unilateral coercive measures in an attempt to rationalize and legitimize the law of the jungle. “This is unilateralism, hegemony, and power politics through and through,” said Fu.
He called on these Western countries to honor their commitments to upholding the UN Charter and international law, and immediately, unconditionally, completely lift all unilateral coercive measures. He also called on UN member states and other international organizations to jointly oppose those unlawful practices and help targeted countries mitigate their plight.
As an important member of the Global South and a victim of unilateral coercive measures, China is committed to upholding the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law, and will work with all relevant parties to 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, said Fu.
The General Assembly, after the debate, adopted a resolution to proclaim December 4 every year as the International Day Against Unilateral Coercive Measures.
SOURCE: CGTN News