Iran's chargé d'affaires to the United Nations, Gholamhossein Darzi, said unilateral sanctions amount to economic terrorism and that blockades imposed by armed force are acts of aggression under international law.
Speaking at a UN General Assembly meeting on the need to end US economic, commercial and financial sanctions against Cuba, Darzi said it was the 34th time the assembly has declared its firm opposition to unbridled unilateralism, reckless foreign policies and unilateral coercive measures imposed by a government that considers itself above international law while continuing systematic and severe violations.
Darzi said unilateral sanctions, including those states impose independently, are rooted in unilateralism and coercion and therefore endanger multilateralism, destabilize international relations and undermine the UN Charter and international law.
He said the sanctions, as a tool for collective punishment of targeted nations, violate fundamental human rights, obstruct peace, weaken the right to development and block a just, peaceful and equitable international order.
Darzi said more than six decades of unilateral US sanctions and blockade against Cuba are a clear example of coercive pressure against a sovereign state, imposing widespread suffering on its people, undermining their fundamental human rights and hindering their development.
He said the intensification of these measures under the hypocritical pretext of "promoting democracy" reveals the deep contradiction between claimed goals and devastating humanitarian consequences. This approach, he said, instrumentalizes democracy rather than promoting it.
No government has the right to dictate the political future of an independent nation, Darzi said. From any perspective, such policies and actions, including economic warfare, are illegal, immoral and inhumane. The illegal and inhumane blockade that has lasted decades must end immediately, the imposing government must fully compensate the Cuban people for all damages, and all those involved in perpetuating these policies must be held accountable, he said.
Darzi said the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has itself faced aggression and the consequences of US economic pressure and blockades, once again declares its clear and firm opposition to any sanctions against independent and sovereign states, including Cuba.
He said such sanctions harm ordinary people, especially women, children and the elderly, undermine their health, security and welfare and create serious obstacles to development, which is necessary for the full enjoyment of human rights. These measures, by instrumentalizing the "human rights" of a nation, in fact grossly violate the human rights of that same nation. This is not a defense of human rights but blatant hypocrisy, he said.
Darzi recalled the US president's so-called "help" promise to the Iranian people, saying: "Help is on the way," and days later, on his orders, US forces bombed an elementary school in Minab, ruthlessly killing 168 children aged 7 to 12.
He said the UN General Assembly must compel the United States to implement dozens of resolutions adopted with the overwhelming support of the international community that reject the Cuban blockade and call on the US to end its economic, commercial and financial blockade. The serious legal consequences of unilateral coercive measures for the international legal order must not be ignored or underestimated, especially in the current turbulent international environment, he said.
Darzi said the UN Charter, as stated in Articles 1 and 2, is founded on the principles of sovereign equality, international cooperation and the development of friendly relations among nations. Unilateral coercive measures violate all these principles as well as the principle of non-intervention, especially when their aim is to force states to change their domestic policies, while Article 2(7) prohibits intervention in matters essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of states.
He said invoking human rights can in no way justify measures that impose widespread suffering on innocent people, since sanctions imposed in the name of protecting human rights themselves violate rights such as health, food, development and a dignified life.
These measures target ordinary people and in practice act as a form of collective punishment, hitting the most vulnerable hardest, he said. This is not protection of human rights but denial of human rights through economic pressure, a instrumentalization and weaponization of human rights.
Darzi said that while the Charter considers international cooperation necessary to solve global problems and promote friendly relations among nations, unilateral coercive measures instead strengthen confrontation, deepen divides and weaken the foundations of peaceful coexistence.
He said these measures directly conflict with the text, spirit, subject and purpose of the Charter. Sanctions are a form of economic terrorism, while blockades enforced by armed force constitute acts of aggression under international law, he said. Despite differences in form and severity, these measures share a deeply worrying feature: they undermine the sovereignty of states, cause human suffering and substantively violate international law, and are therefore both illegal and illegitimate.
Darzi said a policy that sacrifices the welfare of millions for political ends is incompatible with the principles of humanity, morality and international solidarity.
He reaffirmed Iran's firm solidarity with the government and resilient people of Cuba in their struggle against the blockade and other unjust coercive measures. Iran will continue to support the elimination of unilateral coercive measures and calls on the assembly to intensify efforts to end these measures immediately, including sanctions against Cuba.
The time has come to end these illegal and inhumane measures, Darzi said. Their continuation is not only a failure of international responsibility but a clear manifestation of humanitarian and moral bankruptcy.
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