Humanitarian Impact of U.N. Sanctions Urged to Be AddressedThe United Nations should embark on in-depth study on more effective sanctions in certain cases and on humanitarian consequences of the sanction measures, China's U.N. envoy told the Security Council Monday. All aspects of sanctions especially their effective monitoring should be taken into full consideration before implementation, said Ambassador Wang Yingfan when addressing an open debate on the subject."We must attach adequate importance to addressing humanitarian consequences created by sanctions, which have a direct bearing on the humanitarian situation of thousands of innocent civilians," he said. He said China is supportive of setting up an informal working group to carry out a review of the Security Council's sanctions. The group should conduct thorough investigations and come out with concrete and feasible solutions in areas such as expansion of humanitarian exemption, pre-analysis, post-evaluation, and should set up criteria for the suspension or lift of sanctions, Wang said. Wang was among some 30 speakers at the debate. Earlier, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the record of the sanctions imposed in the last decade "has raised serious doubts not only about the effectiveness but also about their scope and severity when innocent civilians often become victims not only of their own government but of the actions of the international community as well". In the 1990s, the Security Council has invoked Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter to impose sanctions in 14 cases, calling on member states to apply measures not involving the use of armed force to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such measures are commonly referred to as sanctions. Afghanistan, Angola, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Iraq, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Sudan are still on the list of U.N. sanctions. |
| Please visit People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |