Daily Times

A Chinese envoy on Monday called for an immediate lifting of unilateral sanctions by the countries concerned to return the “hope of survival” to children in countries like Syria. Zhang Jun, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations, pointed to the “harsh reality” that unilateral sanctions are decimating the economic foundations and development capacity of the countries affected, robbing many children of their right to development and right to survival, which are the most fundamental of all rights. 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, Zhang told a Security Council meeting on children and armed conflict. “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,” he said.