China calls for lifting illegal Western sanctions on Syria

New-York, SANA-China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, called on Western countries to immediately lift the unilateral illegal sanctions imposed on Syria, which greatly impeded rescue and relief efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake that hit the country on 6th of Feb.

In the aftermath of the powerful earthquake in Syria, the unlawful unilateral sanctions have led to a severe shortage of heavy equipment and search and rescue tools, raising grave concerns that many children under the rubble may have perished as a result of untimely rescue or insufficient rescue capacity, Xinhua quoted Zhang as saying at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict yesterday.

“We urge the countries concerned to lift all their unlawful unilateral sanctions immediately without conditions, not to become accomplices to the natural disaster, not to rob Syrian children of their hope of survival, and desist from their hypocritical political grandstanding,” Zhang said.

Zhang said children are the most innocent group and the most vulnerable victims in armed conflicts, and stressed that conflict prevention and resolution must be the primary and ultimate means of protection.

The envoy highlighted the needs to seek political solutions to resolve conflicts, to act in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in good faith, and to uphold true multilateralism, strengthen dialogue and cooperation.

“To effectively prevent violations against children, we must enhance the spirit of rule of law, and put into practice the requirements of international law on the protection of children in armed conflicts,” he said.

Zhang urged “the last country in the world” that has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to act without delay, “so that this vital Convention can truly achieve universal coverage.”

The United States is the only country unwilling to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Source Xinhua

Bushra Dabin / Shaza Qriema