Sanctions will not work in the age of Covid-19 – The Zimbabwe Standard

IN early April, the United Nations General Assembly considered a draft declaration on the abolition of unilateral sanctions imposed by a number of states, primarily the United States, Britain and the European Union that bypassed the UN Security Council.

BY OWN CORRESPONDENT

The draft was co-authored by 28 states and its importance is determined by the need to unite the international community in the context of the coronavirus pandemic also known as Covid-19, which has infected more than a million people worldwide with over 54 000 becoming victims.

In this case, the unilateral sanctions imposed under various pretexts by western countries impose a threat to an assortment of supplies and equipment necessary to fight the deadly virus to countries that fall under their restrictive measures.

Countries such as Zimbabwe, Iran, Cuba, North Korea and Venezuela, to mention but a few are under threat.

Despite the unequivocal importance and undeniable need for a declaration on the lifting of illegal, albeit unilateral sanctions, the draft was not adopted.

Opponents of the document, like many other humanitarian initiatives of the UN, have once again become the US, EU, Great Britain, Ukraine and Georgia.

Calls to abandon sanctions were also made in March at the G -20 summit held via video conference.

At that time, America once again kept itself aloof from participants who reaffirmed their commitment to solidarity between peoples and the search for common recipes to fight the new type of coronavirus.

The US did not hear the call to abandon sanctions and trade wars and give a green light to all countries that the access to food and medical supplies were necessary combating the epidemic.

According to the text of the draft declaration of the UN General Assembly considered this month , the document provided for the leading role of the World Health Organisation in combating the pandemic, the consent of states to cooperate with each other and with the WHO, including to develop ways to combat the spread and treatment of Covid-19.

It also called on countries to abandon trade wars and applying unilateral sanctions through the bypassing of the UN Security Council.

Apologists for countries that mantain sanctions policies were not ready to respond to the call of the UN Secretary General and were not able to sacrifice their politicised approaches and interests.

In such circumstances, it will be more difficult to give a global and joint response to the threat of a new pandemic.

And as a result of the short-sighted sanctions policy, the first violin, of which is Washington, a huge number of people can suffer, especially in developing countries.

The current situation shows that so far, not all countries have realised the seriousness of the situation.

The behavior of the US, EU, Britain, Ukraine and Georgia at the UN General Assembly shows that not everyone has realised the danger of the pandemic and continues to act as if nothing had happened.

In fact, a pandemic can be compared to a global war, and the whole world is waging a vicious fight against a common enemy-Covid-19.

Its time the world woke up to the fact that we need to forget about past grievances and work hand in glove, if not like tongue and saliva, to fight against the coronavirus.

But, as things stand, a number of countries are still preoccupied with some petty issues against the backdrop of the pandemic, making them appear insensitive and inhumane.

Countries that stubbornly support the preservation of sanctions are being too frivolous to approach the real threat of the extinction of mankind.

Should there be more victims for the US and its allies to finally wake up and smell the coffee?

After all has been said, there should be unity worldwide in fighting this global pandemic and break trade barriers to allow for the smooth and timely flow of supplies and equipment.

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Sanctions will not work in the age of Covid-19 - The Zimbabwe Standard