Unilateral sanctions hurting civilians must be dropped

Unilateral sanctions hurting civilians must be dropped, says UN expert

NEW YORK (17 October 2018) – Unilateral sanctions that deprive innocent people of food and medicines must end immediately, a UN Special Rapporteur on the effect of sanctions on human rights said today.

“Unilateral sanctions that restrict nearly any financial transaction, or which seek to prevent third countries from engaging in legal trade with a country, are illegal and immoral forms of coercion, particularly when they harm the human rights of people living in targeted countries,” Idriss Jazairy said in a report presented to the UN General Assembly.

“There is a need for differences between States to be resolved through peaceful means as advocated by the UN Charter, while avoiding exposing innocent civilians to collective punishment.”

The UN Human Rights Council established the Special Rapporteur’s mandate in September 2014, following concern by the UN human rights system and the international community about the negative impact of unilateral sanctions on the human rights of the civilian population.

The independent expert said that international human rights law demands free and unfettered access for humanitarian goods. “The International Court of Justice has recently made two preliminary rulings that reiterate the obligation of States to ensure effective humanitarian exemptions in their sanction regimes, including for aviation safety equipment.”

Jazairy cited the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which states the “inhabitants of a given country do not forfeit their basic economic, social and cultural rights by virtue of any determination that their leaders have violated norms relating to international peace and security.”[1]

Referring to Syria, the Special Rapporteur said complex financial sanctions prevented the government and humanitarian actors from buying food, medicine or spare parts for water pumps or electrical generators from Western countries, imposing further suffering on innocent civilians. “I call upon States to address this issue by creating a UN-led procurement mechanism, which will provide for the human rights of civilians,” he said.

The Special Rapporteur said there was a clear risk that Iran, Syria, Gaza and possibly Venezuela were or would have to cope with a blockade situation. His report to the General Assembly proposes that the war-time protections of the Geneva Convention should be applied to countries under blockades even in peacetime.

“People under economic attack deserve no fewer protections than those under armed attack,” said Jazairy. “I call upon the international community to see that this imposition of sufferings on innocents is illegal and morally repugnant and to join in elaborating a general declaration on unilateral coercive measures and the rule of law.”

ENDS

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