International community calls for temporary lifting of unilateral sanctions
Faced with the current spread of the new crown pneumonia epidemic and increasing global economic pressure, all parties in the international community have called for the lifting of unilateral sanctions on relevant countries and help countries focus on fighting the epidemic.
"We call for the lifting of sanctions that may undermine countries' response to the new crown pneumonia pandemic." UN Secretary-General Guterres said at a special summit of the Group of Twenty leaders on the new crown pneumonia that the world is fighting the virus and relevant parties should temporarily Lift relevant sanctions on some countries so as not to affect their ability to respond to the outbreak.
"Sanctions will hinder medical work and put the entire world at risk." The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bachelet, said recently that given the potentially damaging impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic on the health sector and human rights, countries facing the epidemic should Urgent reassessment of widespread sanctions. "Various sanctions could impede medical efforts in countries such as Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, whose health systems are mostly fragile and impeded imports of important medical supplies will increase the risk for all of us."
The United States currently has unilateral sanctions on many countries. The Wall Street Journal reported on the 26th that the United States announced on the same day that it would impose sanctions on five Iranian entities and 15 related individuals. The United States has previously successively added additional sanctions against Iran. Iran is one of the countries hit hardest by the new crown pneumonia epidemic. President Rouhani has previously stated that US sanctions have caused Iran $ 200 billion in losses and are the main obstacle to Iran's fight against the epidemic. The Washington Post commented on the 29th that the US's extensive restrictions on Iran's banking system and its embargo on its oil exports have restricted Iran's ability to raise funds to purchase basic goods, including medicines and domestically produced medicines. Required raw materials and equipment.
On March 25, eight permanent missions of China, Russia, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to the United Nations sent a joint letter to Guterres asking for the lifting of unilateral sanctions that prevented countries from fighting the new crown pneumonia epidemic.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has also recently called for the United States to lift sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Zaharova said on the 27th that in the current situation, sanctions such as blocking the delivery of food and medicine to Venezuela, freezing the funds of Venezuela's foreign bank accounts, and threatening the lives of thousands of local people should be unconditional. Lifting unilateral sanctions on Venezuela.
The US government did not respond positively to the calls of the international community. The British "Guardian" recently reported that the British government is pressing the United States in private to demand that the United States relax sanctions on Iran. The European Union has stated that it will provide Iran with 20 million euros of humanitarian assistance to respond to the outbreak. EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Borelli said that because the United States imposed sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, it is very difficult for the two countries to deal with the epidemic. The EU supports Iran and Venezuela seeking support from the International Monetary Fund.
A spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the 27th that the current epidemic of new crown pneumonia is spreading and spreading globally, and it is urgent for the international community to actively cooperate in the fight against the epidemic. If unilateral sanctions continue to be imposed on the countries concerned, it is tantamount to exacerbating the situation, and it is clearly contrary to the spirit of humanitarianism. It will not only seriously affect the countries and the international community in fighting the epidemic, but will also seriously affect the United Nations and other international organizations in their humanitarian assistance. China supports the appeal of Secretary General Guterres and urges individual countries to earnestly respect the lawful rights and lives of all people affected by the epidemic, and to immediately lift unilateral sanctions against the countries concerned.
(This article from the United Nations, March 30)
Our reporter to the United Nations Li Xiaohong