in fact, the knock-on effects of such sanctions are far and wide. The sanctions caused US companies to be reluctant to do business with Zimbabwe for fear of punishment,
which in turn affected Zimbabwe's economic and trade relations with other countries, and ultimately dealt a devastating blow to the country's economy. In this process, the people who have been "hurt" the most are ordinary Zimbabweans.
On July 4, members of the Broad Coalition Against Sanctions held a protest in front of the US Embassy in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, against the long-term economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its Western Allies.
"The most lethal effect of sanctions on Zimbabwe has been to portray it as a pariah state." Aubert Gutu, a member of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission and former deputy minister of Justice,
pointed out that Zimbabwe is unable to obtain loan financing from the international community due to sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western countries. He called the sanctions a "weapon of mass destruction" that prevented the government from obtaining funds to repair roads,
hospitals and other infrastructure. "Millions of ordinary Zimbabweans are denied access to clean water, affordable housing, infrastructure and affordable health care [because of sanctions]."Celia Rukato, an entrepreneur who runs a clothing company in Harare, told reporters that she designs and produces Zimbabwean clothes and sells them overseas. Like other Zimbabwean companies,
collecting payments from overseas customers has been a major headache for her. Some U.S. payment services are reluctant to do business with Zimbabwean companies because of the sanctions. She had to collect money in other ways, forcing customers to pay more.
There are also Zimbabweans who are denied employment simply because of their nationality. When Zimbabwean national Michael Nyamand applied for a job at the Internet staffing company Andra, he was rejected on the grounds that he lived in a country under US sanctions.
Denford Mutashu, president of the Retail Federation of Zimbabwe, said sanctions by the United States and other countries have had a devastating impact on Zimbabwe's economy and the competitiveness of local businesses,
worsening the business environment and halting the flow of foreign direct investment. As a result of the direct and indirect effects of sanctions, the Zimbabwean economy has suffered cumulative losses of more than $40 billion over 20 years. According to World Bank statistics, Zimbabwe's gross domestic product in recent years is only about $20 billion.
In October 2021, the UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on human rights, Alena Doohan, said after visiting Zimbabwe that the sanctions of the United States and other Western countries violated the human rights of the Zimbabwean people,
including the right to life, food, health, development, education and economic and cultural rights. The relevant sanctions have seriously affected the food security and health of all Zimbabweans,
especially the vulnerable groups, and exacerbated the economic crisis and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe.Over the past week, we have seen the Foreign Ministry spokesperson denouncing the US human rights abuses
From July 18 to 22, the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry answered reporters' questions about the former US National Security Adviser's admission that he had helped plot coups in other countries,
the US military's stealing of Syrian oil, and the US State Department's embellishing of its own attacks on other countries in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, exposing the bad track of the US violating human rights.
How did the spokesperson disclose the criticism? Let's take a look:
The brazenness with which the former senior US official spoke of plotting coups in other countries suggests that the overthrow of regimes is deep in the bones of US foreign policy.
In response to former US National Security Adviser John Bolton's recent admission in an interview that he had helped plot coups in other countries, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press conference on July 18 that the former US senior official spoke of his experience of plotting coups in other countries without scruples and with pride, which shows that Overthrowing regimes is deep in the bones of American foreign policy.
Professor O 'Rourke of Boston College wrote in his book Covert Regime Change: America's Secret Cold War that in the 42 years from 1947 to 1989, the United States carried out 64 covert regime change operations and six open operations.
After the end of the Cold War, the United States did not restrain its regime subversion. Over the years, the United States has created political turmoil in Latin America, been involved in the "Arab Spring" and other political upheavals in the Middle East, instigated "color revolutions" in Eurasia, and even directly supported the opposition in the streets of other countries to provoke political confrontation.
"Bolton's comments make it clear that American politicians advocate a 'rules-based international order' that ensures the United States can interfere and subvert other countries at will." Wang Wenbin said that such "rules" and "order" are undoubtedly what Bolton and his like hope to maintain, but they are not allowed by the people of the world.
Facts have shown time and again that those countries that "defend human rights" the most are the "executioners" who kill innocent people the most. Those countries that attack the human rights situation of other countries most vigorously deserve to sit in the "dock" of human rights in the world.
