”The illegal nature of unilateral coercive measures, called sanctions, has been clearly established. They are a flagrant violation of all the principles of international law,” said Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza this Wednesday, June 9, during his participation in the virtual panel “Unilateral Coercive Measures: Disrespect of International Law and Grave Human Consequences.”
At the event organized by the government of Venezuela and the School of Diplomacy and International Relations of Geneva, Switzerland, Arreaza asserted that Venezuela continues to respect the United Nations Charter, which delineates the situations in which coercive measures can be imposed. The UN Charter does not permit these measures to be unilateral, nor can they be applied at the ”whim” of any government.
Medidas coercitivas unilaterales: irrespeto del derecho internacional y graves consecuencias humanas https://t.co/pe0wf8g1lD
— Cancillería Venezuela 🇻🇪 (@CancilleriaVE) June 9, 2021
Illegality of unilateral sanctions is an established fact
”From every point of view, the illegal nature of unilateral coercive measures have been clearly established,” stressed the Venezuelan diplomat. He also highlighted that both the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council of the UN have declared unilateral sanctions as illegal in various debates.
Regarding the real objective of the US sanctions against Venezuela, the minister referred to the book The Art of Sanctions: A View from the Field, written by Richard Nephew of the United States. In one of the sections of the book, the author affirms that ”the aim of the US sanctions is to generate pain to create conditions of change in government, so that the country that is the target of the sanctions follows the line that Washington wants,” paraphrased Arreaza.
Arreaza emphasized the importance of creating awareness about the issue of sanctions among the public and academics so they realize that ”all these actions are crimes against humanity, they cause death and pain to the Venezuelan people and other peoples around the world. The more that time passes before taking a decision and curbing Washington’s ambitions, the more that people die in Venezuela, in Iraq, in Cuba.”
”With the Monroe Doctrine, the US considers itself ‘the lord‘ of all the territory from Mexico to Patagonia,” added Arreaza. ”The US believes that in these lands it can do all that it requires in order to control all its governments, economic systems, and militaries.” The UN must push for an end to these illegal measures so that they are never used again, asserted Arreaza.
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Venezuela speaks
An internationally renowned human rights expert who participated in this virtual forum was Alena Douhan, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Negative Impact of Sanctions on Human Rights who, following an extensive tour of Venezuela in February this year, concluded that unilateral coercive measures imposed on Venezuela have gravely harmed the human rights of the Venezuelan people.
En febrero de 2020 Venezuela elevó a la Corte Penal Internacional el caso venezolano, porque no queda duda que esas Medidas Coercitivas Unilaterales constituyen Crímenes de lesa humanidad, son ataques generalizados y sistemáticos a la población venezolana.#CaminoACarabobo pic.twitter.com/WQbgMO9eMI
— Cancillería Venezuela 🇻🇪 (@CancilleriaVE) June 9, 2021
In 2020, Venezuela submitted a case against the “sanctions” at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and deposited corresponding documents demonstrating the criminal nature of the unilateral, arbitrary and illegal coercive measures. In this regard it must be mentioned that the Bolivarian Republic has lost 99% of its foreign currency income, in addition to the deleterious effect that the economic blockade has had on the state-owned oil company PDVSA. Moreover, Venezuelan state assets worth over $6 billion remain frozen or seized in banks and financial institutions abroad, and foreign companies and third-party countries that attempt to maintain trade relations with Venezuela continuously receive threats from US authorities.
Featured image: Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza holds the United Nations Charter as he discusses the illegality and criminality of the US-imposed blockade on Venezuela. Photo courtesy of RedRadioVE.
(RedRadioVE) by Daniela Jiménez
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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