Representing the SanctionsKill Campaign, UNAC AC Member, Sara Flounders speaks at UN Press Conference on Unilateral Economic Coercive Measures. These measures, usually referred to as “Sanctions” are a form of siege warfare that cause as much harm as bombs and bullets to targeted nations. Nations of the Global South want to emphasize that Economic Coercive Measures not only oppress the people, and especially the most vulnerable members of the population, children, sick people, the elderly, but they undermine the Right to Development (R2D) of these nations that have long been held back by colonialism. Sara speaks from about 27 minutes until 36 minutes.
by Natalia Schuurman, published on SanctionsKill, November 5, 2024
Last week, several diplomats convened [a press conference] to discuss the pressing issue of unilateral coercive measures as a critical impediment to the realization of the right to development. The panel was moderated by Venezuela’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada.
Special Rapporteur on the Negative Impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures on the Enjoyment of Human Rights, Alena Douhan, reported on the increasing trend of over-compliance with unilateral sanctions by governments, companies and other entities emphasized the need for a formalized methodology to monitor and evaluate the humanitarian impact of unilateral coercive measures and how they are enforced.
Co-author of Sanctions: A Wrecking Ball in a Global Economy and member of the Sanctions Kill Campaign, Sara Flounders, was among the other panelists who spoke during this event. Flounders explained how U.S. sanctions constitute a form of deadly geopolitical coercion and emphasized the need for a just foreign policy.
Flounders explained:
“We seek to work with United Nations bodies and other international bodies to expose this crime against humanity. The outcome of the U.S. presidential elections will not change this deadly policy of economic strangulation. The U.S. electorate doesn’t get to vote on imperialism’s endless wars, but mass pressure on many fronts can force through change.”
Flounders and others stressed the illegality of U.S. sanctions as violations of the UN Charter and the Geneva Conventions against collective punishment and called for greater international pressure from civil society to end all unilateral (economic) coercive measures.
Natalia Schuurman works for the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ).
Sara Flounders is on the Administrative Committee of the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), is an Editor of the Workers World Newlsetter and is co-director of the International Action Center (IAC).