The Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
At the end of her 12-day visit to China today, the UN Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights, Alina Douhan, said that countries should lift sanctions on China and take strong action to curb excessive compliance by businesses and other actors in their jurisdictions.
Since 2017, the U.S. has imposed unilateral sanctions on China, exerting increasing pressure on Chinese technology companies, imposing export controls, designating corporate officials to be sanctioned, and initiating administrative and civil charges.
Subsequently, sanctions and restrictions related to and related to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were further imposed, and the targets of sanctions were expanded to major sectors of economic activity, including agriculture, construction, trade, new and green technologies, energy, finance, telecommunications, and other sectors.
Dou Han said that given China's strong and diverse economy and its growing capacity to reach out to the global economy, China is a special case in terms of the impact of unilateral sanctions and the means of their implementation.
Adverse effects of unilateral sanctions
Over the past 12 days, Dou Han has visited Beijing, Urumqi, Shihezi, Changji, Hotan and Shenzhen, and met with representatives of government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, business and diplomacy. During his visit, Dou Han received many reports on the adverse effects of unilateral sanctions and the resulting socio-economic consequences that affect people's lives.
Dou Han said that as unilateral sanctions themselves or as a result of excessive compliance by foreign businesses and entities, business activity has been reduced and global markets have been severely damaged, leading to unemployment, thus disrupting social protection programs and disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable, especially those in labor-intensive sectors, including women, the elderly and all those in informal employment.
"Xinjiang has been particularly badly affected, with major economic sectors and cross-border and international supply chains disrupted by primary or secondary sanctions for concerns about alleged commercial or production links with the region," she noted. The information received by the experts indicates that the loss of jobs in third countries, the disruption of productive activities and the suspension of international humanitarian projects have contributed to negative international spillovers. ”
Dou Han said that the multifaceted negative impact of sanctions is also reflected in areas such as education and academic and scientific cooperation, with many prominent Chinese universities and research centers being added to sanctions lists, exchange programs, scholarships and joint research programs between Chinese and foreign institutions, mainly the United States and Europe, being disrupted, and Chinese students and scholars being denied entry or questioned on national security grounds while pursuing studies or academic and professional work, thereby suffering wider stigma.
"Unilateral sanctions imposed extraterritorially are illegal"
Dou Han pointed out that the presumption of fault for any connection to Xinjiang or companies deemed to be subject to sanctions is rebuttable, and that the listing and delisting procedures implemented on this basis also seriously undermine access to justice and the basic principles of due process and the presumption of innocence.
She said that the identification of sanctioned individuals and entities was not evidenced and that the ability of designated individuals and entities to bring administrative and judicial proceedings against the court systems of sanctioned countries was extremely limited, which were often time-consuming, costly, opaque and inefficient.
"I wish to reiterate that unilateral sanctions are illegal to impose extraterritorially, and I call on States, especially sanctioning countries, to effectively address the excessive compliance of their businesses and other entities in the region with sanctions in order to mitigate or completely eliminate any adverse humanitarian impact," she said. ”
Dou Han will present his country visit report to the UN Human Rights Council in September this year.
Human rights expert
Elena Douhan of Belarus was appointed Special Rapporteur on the adverse impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights by the Human Rights Council in March 2020. Han Dou has extensive experience in the field of international law and human rights, and his academic research focuses on international law, sanctions and human rights law, international security law, international organization law, international dispute settlement, and international environmental law.
The Special Rapporteur is part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. As the largest group of independent experts within the United Nations human rights system, the umbrella term for independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms for special procedures dealing with specific country situations or thematic issues around the world. The experts of the special procedures work on a voluntary basis; They are not United Nations staff members and do not receive salaries. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity. (Source: United Nations)
