Unilateral coercive measures must end: Chinese envoy

UNITED NATIONS - A Chinese envoy on Monday called for efforts to put an end to unilateral coercive measures as they undermine the foundation of multilateralism and international rule of law.

History has proved that unilateral coercive measures 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, said Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations.

The UN Charter lays the cornerstone of post-World War II international order and establishes basic norms of international relations such as sovereign equality and peaceful settlement of disputes, he said. Unilateral coercive measures run counter to the spirit of multilateralism and international cooperation as they 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.

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, Fu told a debate of the General Assembly.

Unilateral coercive measures violate the basic human rights of other countries and cause systemic humanitarian disasters, he said.

Ironically under the pretext of 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, he said.

Unilateral coercive measures rupture global development cooperation and severely halt the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said Fu.

Unilateral coercive measures, such as financial embargo, 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."

A few Western countries have instrumentalized and weaponized unilateral coercive measures in an attempt to rationalize and legitimize the law of the jungle, said Fu. "This is unilateralism, hegemony, and power politics through and through. Such illegal practices harm others and will eventually backfire, and will surely be tossed by history."

Over the past few decades, the General Assembly has adopted numerous resolutions opposing unilateral coercive measures, highlighting their negative impact on human rights and urging the United States to lift its embargo on Cuba, he noted.

China calls 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, completely lift all unilateral coercive measures, he said. "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 unilateral coercive measures, China always stands on the side of fairness and justice, on the side of multilateralism, and on the side of developing countries, he said. China will work with all relevant parties to jointly push back the regressive tide of unilateralism and hegemony, jointly uphold the international system with the United Nations 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.

The General Assembly, after the debate, adopted a resolution to proclaim Dec 4 every year as the International Day Against Unilateral Coercive Measures.