«If we compare the effects between a war conflict and unilateral coercive measures, many are equivalent, infrastructure is damaged, people’s lives are put at risk (…) Unlike a bombing, it is not an instantaneous effect, but it has a progressive effect that is maintained over time”.
This was stated by the Argentine lawyer and economist Carlos María Correa, this Thursday, during his speech at the international conference Unilateral coercive measures: disrespect for international law and serious human consequences“.
In this sense, he pointed out that unilateral coercive measures can have serious and devastating consequences like any war conflict, “they seek to harm not only governments but also populations (…) Their purpose is to overthrow governments, change political systems, these measures have a systemic character that aims to block the functioning of the States”, and they aim to change the ways of life of the countries to which they are applied, constituting a clear violation of the United Nations Charter and the basic principles of international law.
He stressed that these tools represent an act of domination and aggression, “an expression of the exercise of economic power such as, for example, control over financial transfers” and, furthermore, have had a devastating effect on the health systems of the victim people, strongly evidenced amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Unilateral coercive measures affect a third of the world’s population (…) They represent a lack of awareness of minimal ethical behavior, which means not doing to others what we would not want them to do to us”, explained the lawyer Correa.
Likewise, he stressed that unilateral coercive measures are a clear denial of the basic principles of the multilateral order and that humanitarian exceptions should not be considered before their application, but rather fight for the immediate lifting and eradication of these illegal and criminal instruments.
The international conference Unilateral coercive measures: disrespect for international law and serious human consequences, was held on June 9 and 10. The closing ceremony was chaired by the Executive Vice-president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, and was attended by panelists from different countries, who debated for two days about the perverse effects of these tools used by the United States government and its allies to exert pressure on countries that do not adhere to its interests.