Chair,
I have the honor to deliver a joint statement on behalf of a cross-regional group of 28 member states, namely Antigua and Barbuda, Belarus, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mali, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Russian Federation, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, State of Palestine, Sudan, Uganda, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Zimbabwe, and my own country China.
Today's world is plagued by rampant unilateralism and raging unilateral coercive measures. History has proven that UCMs are a major source of international turbulence and disorder. As the United Nations enters its ninth decade, the international community must remain clear-headed, strengthen unity and cooperation, and firmly oppose and bring an end to such unlawful practices. Developing countries and their peoples continue to bear the brunt of UCMs, which violate the principle of sovereign equality and cooperation, interfere in other countries' internal affairs, run counter to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and undermine the foundation of multilateralism and international rule of law.
Chair,
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development underscores the equal enjoyment by all states of the development dividends, and strongly urges states to refrain from promulgating and applying any unilateral economic, financial or trade measures not in accordance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations.
Regrettably, despite repeated calls by the international community for the urgent lifting of UCMs, these unlawful measures continue to have devastating, some times even life-threatening consequences for countries and their peoples. UCMs, compounded by secondary sanctions and over-compliance, exacerbate existing humanitarian and economic challenges and threaten food, energy and financial security. The growing use of tariffs as a tool of unilateral coercion, including additional tariffs based on unilateral determinations under domestic law and imposed under the pretext of national security or human rights, further politicizes economic and trade issues, undermines the multilateral trading system, disrupts global industrial and supply chains, and impedes the efforts of the countries concerned to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Moreover, UCMs severely violate the basic human rights, including the right to life, health, development and education, and impede the ability of targeted countries to realize those rights. The Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of UCMs on the enjoyment of human rights for the UN Human Rights Council pointed out unilateral sanctions have led to shortages of health care services, medication, and energy supplies in sanctioned countries, with persons in vulnerable situations such as women, children, and the elderly facing particularly dire circumstances.
We are also concerned that unilateral coercive measures and over-compliance have limited the ability of affected countries to access and acquire foreign investment and technologies, and hindered international cooperation in culture, arts, sports, travel, people-to-people exchanges, and transports, including civil aviation.
Chair,
We welcome the 2026 Ministerial Declaration of the Group of 77 and China on reaffirming that the imposition of coercive economic measures, including unilateral sanctions, against developing countries does not contribute to economic and social development, including dialogue and understanding among countries. We highlight the Non-Aligned Movement's Declarations and Communiques on condemning the promulgation and application of unilateral coercive measures, including those measures used as tools for political, economic and financial pressure against any country, in particular developing countries.
We recognize the work done by the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of UCMs on the enjoyment of human rights for the UN Human Rights Council and take note of the reports, country visits and statements delivered by the Special Rapporteur.
We reaffirm our opposition to unilateral coercive measures and call on a few Western countries to heed the just calls of the international community, honor their commitments to upholding the UN Charter and international law, and immediately, unconditionally, and completely lift all UCMs. We also call upon Member States, the UN system, and other international organizations to jointly oppose such unlawful practices and help targeted countries mitigate their plight. We also request the Secretary General to continue monitoring the imposition of unilateral economic measures as a means of political and economic coercion.
The current circumstance calls for solidarity and unity rather than confrontation and division to address global challenges and promote and protect human rights for all.
Thank you, Chair.