Say No to Unilateral Sanctions and Jointly Uphold the International Rule of Law
Keynote Speech by H.E. Mr. Xie Feng
Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
at the Opening Ceremony of 2020 Colloquium on International Law
3 December 2020, Hong Kong
The Honorable Chief Executive Carrie Lam,
Secretary of Justice Teresa Cheng,
Chairman Dr. Anthony Neoh,
President Huang Jin,
Dear friends both here and joining us online,
Good afternoon.
As the world is facing the intertwined challenges of Covid-19 and profound changes unseen in a century, the theme this year - "Sanctions: Challenging an Interdependent World" - cannot be more relevant. Seventy-five years ago, with the painful lessons of the two world wars in mind, our forefathers founded the international system with the United Nations at its center, which has ensured the overall international peace and development for more than half a century. Meanwhile, we cannot help but notice that a very few countries, still indulged in hegemonic thinking, continue to meddle with other countries' internal affairs, and frequently resort to unilateral coercive measures such as economic blockade, embargo and sanctions on other countries' nationals. In every way, unilateral sanctions have become a "political virus" threatening the world's peace and stability.
To begin with, unilateral sanctions arbitrarily trample upon international law.
Unilateral sanctions are a breach of the fundamental principle of sovereign equality in international law. The principle of sovereign equality was put forward and developed by founders of international law including Francisco de Vitoria and Hugo Grotius as early as in the 16th century. It is the very first of the seven principles in the Charter of the United Nations adopted in 1945, and has been established as the foundation of many other principles of international law.
The principle carries rich connotations. It first means that States have the duty "to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors" as required by the preamble of the UN Charter, to "respect the personality of other States" and not to "use or encourage the use of economic, political or any other type of measures to coerce another State in order to obtain from it the subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights and to secure from it advantages of any kind" in compliance with the Declaration on Principles of International Law adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 1970. It means that each State "has the sovereign and inalienable right to choose its economic system as well as its political, social and cultural systems" as declared in the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States adopted by the UNGA in 1974, and shall not impose one's own development model and philosophy on others. It also means that "equals have no jurisdiction over each other" (Par in parem non habet iurisdictionem), a maxim of international law, so no State shall apply domestic law to exercise long-arm jurisdiction over or impose sanctions on nationals of other States for normal activities conducted outside its territory.
Unilateral sanctions are a violation of the basic norm of non-intervention in international relations. Not only is the non-intervention principle enshrined in the UN Charter, UNGA resolutions, charters of regional organizations such as the Charter of the Organization of American States and the Constitutive Act of the African Union, and international treaties including the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, but it has also been ruled by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to be "a part and parcel of customary international law". The Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention and Interference in the Internal Affairs of States adopted by the UNGA in 1981 clearly affirms that States have the duty to "refrain from the exploitation and the distortion of human rights issues as a means of exerting pressure on other States or creating distrust and disorder within and among States or groups of States", to "abstain from any defamatory campaign, vilification or hostile propaganda for the purpose of intervening or interfering in the internal affairs of other States", and to "refrain from any action or attempt in whatever form or under whatever pretext to destabilize or to undermine the stability of another State or of any of its institutions". Unilateral sanctions are exactly intended to stigmatize other States under the pretext of democracy and human rights in a bid to incite color revolutions and regime change, hence a blatant violation of basic norms governing international relations.
Unilateral sanctions are a contravention of the UN purposes to promote peace and cooperation. Article 1 of the UN Charter requires taking "effective collective measures" to address threats or other breaches of peace, and solving international disputes and problems by peaceful means, in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, and through international cooperation. The duties of States to cooperate and peacefully settle disputes are also stipulated in other international law instruments including the Declaration on Principles of International Law, the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in ICJ rulings. As Chapter VII of the UN Charter states unequivocally, it is the UN Security Council that may decide on applying measures including "interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication". No State, therefore, has the right to freely bypass the duties to promote peace and cooperation, and arbitrarily convict and impose sanctions on another State. Any such move will pose a threat to international peace and development.
A just cause enjoys abundant support, while an unjust one finds little. The international community has been strongly against unilateral sanctions. The UNGA has adopted resolutions against "Unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion against developing countries" every two years since 1989, on "Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba" each year since 1992, and on "Human rights and unilateral coercive measures" each year since 1997. Dozens of UNGA resolutions, UN Human Rights Council resolutions and Special Rapporteur reports have confirmed and reiterated that "Unilateral coercive measures and legislation are contrary to international law, international humanitarian law, the Charter [of the United Nations] and the norms and principles governing peaceful relations among States." The Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization has also objected to unilateral sanctions from a legal perspective on multiple occasions since founded in 1956. It is fair to say that unilateral sanctions have become a "common enemy" of the international community.
Second, unilateral sanctions are a grave menace to international relations.
Unilateral sanctions are grounded in the fantasy of exceptionalism. The world is a diverse one, where countries are free to choose the political systems and development paths as suited to them, and no one is superior to another. But some countries seem to be under the illusion that their system is the best and that their choices represent "universal values", while all others should dutifully comply. They see themselves as the "judge of the world", condescendingly passing judgment on other countries. They act as the "global policemen", bypassing multilateral institutions and sanctioning others as they like. And they proclaim themselves to be the "chosen ones" who can have their way, unrestrained by international justice.
Unilateral sanctions are the poisonous fruit of power politics and hegemony. Either in history or at present, such sanctions are wielded by big, developed countries to bully small, developing countries. Cuba, Syria, Palestine … The list of victims goes on and on. But if whoever has the hardest fist and the longest arm could dictate to others, the world would end up as a jungle where might is right.
Unilateral sanctions are the black hand aggravating humanitarian disasters. Even as some countries claim to champion human rights, they are infringing upon the right to survival and development of people in sanctioned countries and creating a living hell. According to a study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, an American think tank, US sanctions are estimated to have caused more than 40,000 deaths of Venezuelan people from 2017 to 2018. UN Human Rights Council special rapporteurs also warned that unilateral sanctions have caused difficulties for local people in accessing medicines and treatment and undermined the countries' capacity to respond to Covid-19, bringing suffering and death.
Unilateral sanctions are a source of instability in the international order. Abundant cases have proven that such sanctions will only escalate hatred, division and confrontation, sow more trouble in the world, and run counter to the shared aspiration of the international community for peace, development and cooperation as well as the trend towards greater democracy in international relations. Countries exploiting unilateral sanctions are essentially putting their own interests above international common interests and their domestic law above international law, applying international rules in a selective way, and severely eroding the international order underpinned by international law. Unilateral sanctions have wreaked havoc across the globe for too long, and enough is enough.
Unilateral sanctions are also turning back the clock on economic globalization. Trying to hold on to monopoly and hegemony, some countries have used every possible means to target competitors, politicizing issues of economy, trade, science and technology, and generalizing and abusing the concept of national security. They have erected walls, advocated decoupling and cutting off supply chains, poisoned the fair competition environment and chilled international cooperation with unilateral sanctions, in an attempt to undo globalization. Such practices against the trend of the times should be swept into the dustbin of history, the sooner the better.
Dear friends,
China has been a victim of unilateral sanctions, but we will never give in. It is exactly amid blockade and sanctions that the People's Republic of China has grown stronger over the past seven decades. We consistently oppose and call for the complete and immediate lifting of unilateral coercive measures. At the same time, we are not afraid of them, and the attempt of certain countries to hold back China's development via such means is doomed to fail.
Since last year, Hong Kong has become a frequent target of unilateral sanctions. It is in accordance with the Constitution of China, the Basic Law of the HKSAR and international norms that China has enacted and implemented the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR, and the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has made decisions on Hong Kong-related issues. But some countries have meddled with and exerted coercive pressure on China's just efforts, openly imposed sanctions on officials of the Central and the HKSAR governments, unilaterally suspended the agreements on surrender of fugitive offenders with Hong Kong, revoked Hong Kong's special trading status as a separate customs territory, and relabeled Hong Kong exports. Meanwhile, though, they have long had a robust system of national security laws at home, show no mercy in punishing crimes endangering national security, and have rigorous legal requirements for lawmakers to take an oath of allegiance. Their heaping abuse on China for merely following international practices clearly smacks of double standards, and only exposes their ulterior motive to mess up Hong Kong and contain China as a whole.
Dear friends,
The international community should jointly reject unilateral sanctions. As President Xi Jinping emphasized, "In today's world, any pursuit of unilateralism, protectionism or extreme egoism will lead nowhere. Any practice of blackmailing, blockading or exerting maximum pressure will ultimately fail. Any act of lording oneself over others, seeking hegemony or bullying simply does not work. Not only will all these be futile, but they will eventually hit a dead end." China firmly upholds the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law. It is important that countries rise above ideology, and respect each other's choices of social system, economic model and development path in light of their national conditions. We need to promote a concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, address differences through consultation and negotiation, jointly foster a peaceful and stable environment for development, and build a community with a shared future for mankind.
Unilateral sanctions are a scourge to the entire world. No country can stay immune or afford to sit idly by. Let's say an unequivocal NO to unilateral sanctions with one voice, jointly defend the international rule of law, and work together for a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation.
I wish this colloquium a great success. Thank you.