EU sanctions against Belarus contradict UN Charter

Belarus’ Constitutional Court has pronounced judgement today that the documents adopted by the European Union and some foreign states – envisaging introduction of restrictive measures against Belarus – contradict a number of chapters of the UN Charter

The Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Piotr Miklashevich, recalled that some of the UN General Assembly resolutions – which represent the will of the entire world community – call for abolition of the practice of unilateral coercive measures that fail to meet the UN bodies’ will and are incompatible with the principles of international law set out in the UN Charter. Such resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly include the rejection of the use of unilateral extraterritorial coercive economic measures as means of exerting political and economic pressure, the condemnation of unilateral economic pressure, the resolution on human rights and unilateral coercive measures, as well as many others.

“These resolutions stipulate that unilateral coercive measures are illegal and contradict international law, international humanitarian law, the UN Charter, the principles of sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs, pose a threat to the sovereignty of states, are considered as means of political or economic pressure on any country imposed in order to prevent these countries from exercising their right to freely and independently make decisions regarding their political, economic and social system,” Mr. Miklashevich stressed.

“They also repress the process of comprehensive sustainable social and economic development of states, hinder the growth of people’s well-being in affected countries, blockade full realisation of the rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights documents, in particular, the right to development,” the Chairman of the Constitutional Court added.