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 27th, 2020
By Alan Macleod
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.
Joaquín A. Pérez Ayestarán
@japerezve
Today 🇨🇳,🇨🇺,🇰🇵,🇮🇷,🇳🇮,🇷🇺,🇸🇾,🇻🇪 addressed the #UNSG on the negative impact of
sanctions on nat’l efforts to fight COVID19. We cannot allow a zero-sum game in
the midst of a pandemic. #SanctionsAreCriminal & must end now! Political
calculations cannot get in the way of saving lives!
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10:07 PM - Mar 25, 2020
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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. De Zayas, a legal scholar, notes that sanctions are
tantamount to a “collective punishment” against a population, an explicit
violation of multiple articles of the UN Charter, the foundation of
international law.
Former UN Expert: US Sanctions in Venezuela Largely Responsible for Crisis,
Possible "Crime Against Humanity"
Former UN expert Alfred de Zayas says that US sanctions in Venezuela could
amount to possible "crime against humanity."
MintPress News | Whitney Webb | Jan 28, 2019
De Zayas traveled to Venezuela last year, describing the U.S. sanctions as akin
to a medieval siege and accusing the Trump administration of “crimes against
humanity.” The United Nations Human Rights Council formally condemned the U.S.,
called on all member states to break the sanctions, and even began discussing
the reparations Washington should pay to Venezuela, noting that Trump’s
sanctions were designed to “disproportionately affect the poor and most
vulnerable.” None of this was reported in any major American media outlet at
the time.
The sanctions meant that Venezuela was unable to import key medicines for
conditions like cancer and diabetes, leading to scores of deaths. A 2019 report
from the Washington-based Center for Economic Policy Research conservatively
estimated the sanctions killed 40,000 Venezuelans between mid-2017 and 2018.
Yesterday, the Trump administration turned the screw tighter, putting out a
bizarre hit on President Nicolas Maduro, offering $15 million to anybody who
could bring him to them in chains. Other key figures like Minister of Defense
Vladimir Padrino and Head of the Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello also had
bounties placed on their heads, supposedly because they were part of a drug
trafficking ring.
The U.S. is also turning up the heat on COVID-19 plagued Iran. Senior
Washington insiders like Newt Gingrich are dreaming that their sanctions will
finally bring about regime change in the Islamic Republic. Sanctions led to the
Iranian rial losing 80 percent of its value, with both food prices and
unemployment doubling. While medicine is technically exempt from sanctions, in
reality, Washington has frightened away any nation or corporation from doing
business with Tehran. Even as coronavirus was raging through the country, no
nation was willing to donate even basic supplies to Iran. Eventually, the World
Health Organization stepped in and directly supplied it with provisions. An
October report from Human Rights Watch noted that “the overbroad and burdensome
nature of the US sanctions has led banks and companies around the world to pull
back from humanitarian trade with Iran, leaving Iranians who have rare or
complicated diseases unable to get the medicine and treatment they require.” At
least 2,378 Iranians have died of COVID-19, many of them needlessly.
To Help Stem Spread of Coronavirus, Trump Must Lift Sanctions on Iran
US Sanctions on Iran have crippled the country's health care system and its
ability to effectively deal with the coronavirus.
MintPress News | Ariel Gold | Mar 13
Despite the embargoes they are under, many countries on the sanctioned list
have contributed greatly to the world’s fight against COVID-19. Despite facing
a shortage of basic supplies like soap, Cuba continues to export doctors and
other medical staff around the world, often to the worst affected areas.
Meanwhile, China, the original epicenter of the outbreak, appears to have come
to grips with the pandemic and is now exporting its battle-hardened medical
staff as well as huge quantities of crucial supplies. This has been presented
in the U.S. as a dastardly plot to “curry favor” and shift blame away from
their supposed mishandling of the virus in the first place.
The United States has long had a fractious relationship with the UN, constantly
using its veto power to sink progressive legislation that would weaken its
military, cultural or economic hegemony. In 2017, the U.S. formally pulled out
of the UN’s scientific and cultural organization, UNESCO, in response to the
group admitting Palestine. American sanctions are not popular at all in the
world; in November, for instance, the UN voted 187-3 (U.S., Israel, Brazil) to
condemn Washington’s embargo on Cuba. It was the twenty-eighth consecutive year
with vote totals varying little from year to year.
The sanctioned countries warn that Trump’s actions are killing not only
Americans at home but people all over the world. “We cannot allow for political
calculations to get in the way of saving human lives,” they conclude. However,
precisely because the U.S. has so much power on the world stage, it is unlikely
their protestations will get them very far.
