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China: UN rights expert to assess impact of unilateral sanctions
03 May 2024
GENEVA (3 May 2024) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Alena Douhan, will visit the People’s Republic of China from 6 to 17 May 2024.
During her visit, Douhan plans to meet Government officials, the legislative and judicial branches, representatives of international organisations, the diplomatic community, as well as associations, financial institutions, business community, academia, and other non-governmental stakeholders.
“My visit will aim at covering various sectors affected by unilateral sanctions, including secondary sanctions and sanctions over-compliance, and will explore good practices as well as mitigating and coping initiatives and policies,” she said.
The Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference on 17 May at 14:00 local time to share her preliminary observations. It will take place at the UN House, No. 2 Liangmahe Nahlu, Beijing. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.
Douhan will present her final report on the visit to the Human Rights Council in September 2024.
Ms Alena Douhan (Belarus) was appointed as Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights by the Human Rights Council in March 2020. Ms. Douhan has extensive experience in the fields of international law and human rights as, a Professor of international law at the Belarusian State University (Minsk), a visiting Professor at the Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed conflict, (Bochum, Germany) and the Director of the Peace Research Centre (Minsk). She received her PhD at the Belarusian State University in 2005 and obtained Dr. hab. in International Law and European Law in 2015 (Belarus). Ms. Douhan’s academic and research interests are in the fields of international law, sanctions and human rights law, international security law, law of international organizations, international dispute settlement, and international environmental law.
Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
For more information about the visit, please contact Damianos Serefidis (damianos.serefidis@un.org).
For media enquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)
Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on X: @UN_SPExperts.
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