Unilateral sanctions must not be used as foreign policy tool and means of economic coercion, a United Nations (UN) expert said Friday, noting that western unilateral sanctions against China do not conform with a broad number of international legal norms.
Alena Douhan, UN special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, on Friday wrapped up a 12-day official visit to China.
During her trip from May 6 to 17, Douhan visited Beijing, Shenzhen, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where she talked with government officials and representatives from non-government organizations, businesses, academic institutions and other sectors. She also gathered first-hand accounts and factual input on the negative impact of unilateral sanctions on companies and people's life.
Douhan found that Xinjiang has been particularly affected by the sanctions, and agricultural products such as cotton and tomatoes, which take a large share of the global market, as well as the photovoltaic industry, have suffered multiple blows.
"During my visit I received information about significant drop in businesses' turnovers due to either the direct sanctions-induced restrictions or due to foreign business counterparts' over-compliance out of fear of secondary sanctions against them. Business representatives described the swift loss of the totality of overseas markets, mainly in the U.S. and Canada," said Douhan.
In the particular case of Xinjiang, it was reported that due to the risk of sanctions and seizures for any nexus with Xinjiang and consequent reputational damage, not only foreign but also Chinese businesses from other regions may hesitate to participate in supply chains that involve entities in Xinjiang, said Douhan, adding that this is out of fear of sanctions.
Unilateral sanctions have been imposed against China since 2017 with mounting U.S. pressure on Chinese technological companies and the imposition of export controls, designation of companies’ officials and the launch of administrative and civil charges.
Later on, sanctions have been expanded to cover several sectors including agriculture, trade, new technologies and green technologies, energy, and finance.
These unilateral sanctions not only harm China's economy and people's life, but also have impacts on the right to education and academic and scientific cooperation, affecting the Chinese academic and scientific community, according to the UN expert.
"In the name of national security concerns, a number of Chinese academic institutions and research centers are placed in sanctions lists for alleged military use of advanced scientific research, including in microelectronics, supercomputing and artificial intelligence. A direct consequence is the restrictions imposed on researchers, faculty as well as students to engage with foreign academic institutions, including for studies, exchange programs, or participation in joint research projects," said Douhan.
"It has been reported that such practices have been extended to a broad range of scientific disciplines not strictly limited to those potentially linked to national defense and military applications, often resulting in arbitrary assessments of Chinese students' and scholars' general background as a criterion for collaboration, enrollment or even visa issuance, lengthy interrogation, search of all information from their phones and computers, cancellation of already granted visas," Douhan continued.
These unilateral sanctions do not conform with a broad number of international legal norms and cannot be justified as countermeasures under the law of international responsibility, said Douhan, who called for a removal or suspension of the sanctions that are not authorized by the UN Security Council.
Sanctions imposed by the United States on Xinjiang for alleged forced labor have seriously undermined access to justice and basic principles of the international law, said Douhan.
"Take into account of the allegation that anything having any nexus to the Xiniang region is allegedly including forced labor. Every country is put under the burden of proof that they do not use forced labor. From the legal perspective, we observe the turn of the situation upside down. Concept of presumption in international law and national law is usually positive. We have a presumption of innocence. For example, a person is recognized to be non guilty unless the opposite is proved. In this specific case, the United States has introduced totally opposite presumption. Everything is considered to be wrong, so there is a presumption of existence of the forced labor, unless the opposite is proved. So this concept contradicts the very basics of the international law and I would say the very basics of the theory of law," said Douhan.
Douhan welcomed China to adopt the anti-sanctions and "blocking" legislation as further steps towards minimization of overcompliance and protection of the rights of Chinese entities and individuals.
Douhan also called on sanctioning parties to take all necessary legislative, institutional and administrative measures to eliminate or mitigate cases of over-compliance and ensure that activity of businesses under their jurisdiction and control does not violate human rights extraterritorially.
Douhan will present a report based on her visit to the UN Human Rights Council in September.
Unilateral sanctions must not be used as foreign policy tool against China: UN expert
Unilateral sanctions must not be used as foreign policy tool against China: UN expert
