With a Quarter of the World’s Population Under US
Sanctions, Countries Appeal to UN to Intervene
Eight countries, representing around one-quarter of
all humanity, say that Washington’s actions are
undermining their response to the COVID–19 pandemic
sweeping the planet.
By Alan Macleod
March 28,
2020 "Information
Clearing House"
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The governments of
China, Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia,
Syria, and Venezuela – all under sanctions from the
United States – sent a joint statement to the United
Nations Secretary-General, the UN’s High
Commissioner on Human Rights and the
Director-General of the World Health Organization
calling for an end to the unilateral American
economic blockade, as they are, “illegal and
blatantly violate international law and the charter
of the United Nations.”
The eight countries,
representing around one-quarter of humanity, say
that Washington’s actions are undermining their
response to the COVID–19 pandemic sweeping the
planet. “The destructive impact of said measures at
the national level, plus their extraterritorial
implication, together with the phenomenon of
over-compliance and the fear for ‘secondary
sanctions,’ hinder the ability of national
governments” in procuring even basic medical
equipment and supplies, including coronavirus test
kits and medicine. It is a “hard if not impossible
deed for those countries who are currently facing
the application of unilateral coercive measures,” to
cope, they conclude.
The letter was
shared on Twitter by Joaquin Perez, Venezuela’s
Permanent Ambassador to the UN.
That U.S.
sanctions are “blatant violations of international
law,” the letter states, is not in doubt. As the
American Special Rapporteur to the UN, Alfred de
Zayas,
notes,
only sanctions expressly verified and imposed
collectively by the UN Security Council can be
considered legal; any unilateral punishment is, by
definition, illegal.
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