A/HRC/RES/40/3
Reaffirming that no State may use or encourage the use of any type of measure,
including but not limited to economic or political measures, to coerce another State in order
to obtain from it the subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights and to secure from
it advantages of any kind,
Reaffirming also, among other principles, the sovereign equality of States, nonintervention and non-interference in their internal affairs and freedom of international trade
and navigation, which are also enshrined in many international legal instruments,
Recognizing that unilateral coercive measures in the form of economic sanctions
have far-reaching implications for the human rights of the general population of targeted
States, disproportionately affecting the poor and the most vulnerable classes,
Alarmed by the fact that most current unilateral coercive measures have been
imposed, at great cost in terms of the human rights of the poorest and of persons in
vulnerable situations, on least developed and developing countries by developed countries,
Underlining that under no circumstances should people be deprived of their basic
means of survival,
Recognizing that long-term unilateral coercive measures may result in social
problems and raise humanitarian concerns in the States targeted,
Highlighting the deep-rooted problems and grievances within the international
system and the importance for the United Nations to give a voice to all members of the
international community in order to ensure multilateralism, mutual respect and the peaceful
settlement of disputes,
Expressing its grave concern that the laws, regulations and decisions imposing
unilateral coercive measures have, in some instances, an extraterritorial effect not only on
targeted countries but also on third countries, in contravention of the basic principles of
international law, in a manner that will coerce the latter also to apply the unilateral coercive
measures,
Welcoming the final document and declaration adopted at the seventeenth summit of
Heads of State and Government of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, held on
Margarita Island, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on 17 and 18 September 2016, in
which the Movement reaffirmed, among other things, its principled position of
condemnation of the promulgation and application of unilateral coercive measures against
countries of the Movement, which are in violation of the Charter and international law and
undermine, among other things, the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, political
independence, self-determination and non-interference,
Reaffirming that each State has full sovereignty over the totality of its wealth,
natural resources and economic activity, exercising it freely, in accordance with General
Assembly resolution 1803 (XVII) of 14 December 1962,
Recalling that the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna from 14 to
25 June 1993, called upon States to refrain from any unilateral measure not in accordance
with international law and the Charter and that created obstacles to trade relations among
States and impeded the full realization of all human rights, and that also severely threatened
the freedom of trade,
Deeply concerned that, despite the resolutions adopted on this issue by the General
Assembly, the Human Rights Council, the Commission on Human Rights and at United
Nations conferences held in the 1990s and at their five-year reviews, and contrary to norms
of international law and the Charter, unilateral coercive measures continue to be
promulgated, implemented and enforced by, inter alia, resorting to war and militarism, with
all their negative implications for the social-humanitarian activities and economic and
social development of least developed and developing countries, including their
extraterritorial effects, thereby creating additional obstacles to the full enjoyment of all
human rights, including the right to development, by peoples and individuals under the
jurisdiction of other States,
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