A file photo shows the national flags of China (R) and the United States as well as the flag of Washington D.C. on the Constitution Avenue in Washington, capital of the United States. [Photo/Xinhua]

Unilateral sanctions against China do not conform with a broad number of international legal norms and cannot be justified as countermeasures under the law of international responsibility, a United Nations (UN) expert said Friday.

Alena Douhan, UN special rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights, said the unilateral sanctions against China can be qualified as unilateral coercive measures.

Unilateral coercive measures, as stated by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, are imposed as a tool to "compel a change in the policy" of the targeted states and can "impact the full enjoyment of human rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

Despite China's capability of mitigating their negative impacts, the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries have caused inevitable harm to human rights in China and may lead to negative humanitarian consequences in a broader part of the world, Douhan said at a press conference in Beijing following her 12-day visit to the country.

During her trip, she visited Beijing, Shenzhen, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, where she talked with government officials and representatives from non-government organizations, businesses, academic institutions and other sectors.

The unilateral sanctions have been threatening the rights of vulnerable groups in China, including informally employed individuals, older workers with less productive capacity, and women employed in certain sectors of the economy, said Douhan.

These groups of people more commonly work in labor-intensive industries, which face greater challenges than high-tech industries under the sanctions, and have more difficulties finding a new job once unemployed, according to the UN expert.

On the other hand, unilateral sanctions and their means of enforcement affect third-country workers of Chinese companies; the potential damage to the capabilities of Chinese entities and businesses involved in international development and humanitarian projects may also have negative spill-over effects on disadvantaged populations in countries benefiting from such projects, she said.

Douhan, who will present a report based on her visit to the UN Human Rights Council in September, called on sanctioning parties to "lift and suspend all unilateral sanctions applied to China, Chinese nationals and companies without authorization of the UN Security Council."

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