China calls for minimizing impact of UN Security Council sanctions

China's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday called for improvements to the design and implementation of UN Security Council sanctions to minimize their adverse impact while opposing unilateral sanctions.

"It has been China's consistent position that while all UN member states have the obligation to implement in good faith the sanctions authorized by the council, the council should take a prudent and responsible approach to sanctions," Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the UN, said at a Security Council debate on general issues relating to sanctions: preventing their humanitarian and unintended consequences.

The envoy said that there has been a trend of expansion of the council sanctions regime, whose adverse humanitarian and livelihood-related impact "cannot be brushed aside" and has increasingly "caused disruptions to the normalcy of economic and social activities of the general public and third countries".

"We need to consider in all seriousness how to take steps to improve the design and implementation of the council sanctions to minimize their adverse impact," Zhang said. "China wishes to offer the following proposals."

The first proposal, said Zhang, is that "we must bear in mind that sanctions are a means to an end and not an end in themselves".

Zhang stressed that the council should give precedence to non-compulsory measures such as good offices, mediation and negotiation.

The second is to design sanctions mechanisms that "dovetail precisely with the core issues at hand and the desired objectives".

Third, Zhang said, "member states must faithfully implement the council sanctions". "We are particularly opposed to diplomatic pressure and coercion against any country," Zhang said.

Fourth, the Security Council should closely monitor and comprehensively assess the humanitarian, economic and social impact of sanctions.

The fifth is to establish transparent, standardized and actionable exemption provisions. For certain humanitarian agencies and humanitarian supplies, a standing mechanism for humanitarian exemptions should be in order, Zhang said.

Sixth, special arrangements should be made when special circumstances prevail or a force majeure strikes, Zhang said.

Seventh, as a basic principle, Security Council sanctions should not be open-ended, said Zhang. Clear and actionable exit benchmarks should be established, with the council following up with regular reviews and adjusting or lifting sanctions as and when the set benchmarks are met, Zhang said.

Eighth, said Zhang, the experts for the council's sanctions committees must be selected with the highest professional standards consistently and in line with the principles of diversity and equitable geographical distribution.

Ninth, said Zhang, China proposes that the Security Council re-establish a working group on general issues of sanctions, tasked with a comprehensive review of the adverse humanitarian and other impacts of sanctions and issue specific recommendations for improvement.

Zhang said the council's current sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea "has brought about serious humanitarian consequences".

China and Russia co-sponsored a draft resolution on the DPRK in the Security Council last October. China once again calls on those members who chose to refuse to discuss the draft resolution to participate in the consultations on the draft resolution, he said.

"We should be all the more cognizant of the harm of unilateral sanctions imposed by certain countries," said Zhang. "This is because unilateral sanctions, often in the glorified name of implementing council sanctions, have caused great disasters and chaos, not only putting the UN on the receiving end of the blame when it shouldn't be, but also undermining the authority and effectiveness of the council sanctions themselves."

A few countries "seem to be addicted to" unilateral sanctions, Zhang said. "We have seen that unilateral sanctions imposed in the various names have thrown a spanner in the works of economic and social development and scientific and technological progress of the targeted countries, created an aggravated humanitarian crisis, violated the basic rights of civilians … and caused great damage to the harmony and stability of international relations," he said.

Unilateral sanctions run counter to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, have no basis in international law and are a concrete manifestation of hegemonism and power politics," said Zhang. "We hereby solemnly urge the countries concerned to immediately cease and desist from unilateral sanctions and to stem the severe consequences of unilateral sanctions. We call on the international community to join hands to come together to resist such unlawful acts."