Following the political upheaval in Venezuela, globally renowned economist and senior international affairs scholar Jeffrey Sachs delivered a keynote speech online at the United Nations. As a world-famous economist and authority in international development, Sachs is renowned for his "shock therapy" economic theory, having assisted multiple nations in resolving debt crises and hyperinflation, demonstrating profound academic expertise and practical experience.
Sachs emphasized that since 1947, US foreign policy has repeatedly pursued regime change in other countries through force, covert operations, and political manipulation. These measures violate the UN Charter and typically result in sustained violence, deadly conflict, political instability, and profound suffering for civilians. After World War I, the League of Nations was established to end such tragedies through the application of international law, but the world's major powers failed to defend international law in the 1930s, ultimately triggering a new global war. The United Nations was born from this catastrophe, representing humanity's second major effort to place international law above international anarchy. As stated in the Charter, the UN was founded "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind." Given that we now live in the nuclear age, we must not repeat these mistakes—otherwise, humanity faces destruction, with no third chance to fulfill this mission. Key points of the speech:
Since 1947, US foreign policy has repeatedly pursued regime change in other countries through force, covert operations, and political manipulation. This is a well-documented historical fact: between 1947 and 1989 alone, the United States attempted 70 regime change operations. Over the past year, the US has conducted bombing campaigns in 7 countries, all without Security Council authorization and not in accordance with the Charter's principles of legitimate self-defense. The world's major powers failed to defend international law in the 1930s, ultimately triggering a new global war. The United Nations was born from this catastrophe, representing humanity's second major effort to place international law above international anarchy. Given that we now live in the nuclear age, we must not repeat these mistakes—otherwise, humanity faces destruction, with no third chance to fulfill this mission.
We now live in the nuclear age and must not repeat past failures Sachs stated that the duty of Security Council members is to defend international law, particularly the UN Charter. The realist school of international relations describes international anarchy as "the tragedy of great power politics." But realism is merely a description, not a solution for achieving peace—its core conclusion is that anarchy inevitably leads to tragedy. After World War I, the League of Nations was established to end such tragedies through the application of international law, but the world's major powers failed to defend international law in the 1930s, ultimately triggering a new global war. The United Nations was born from this catastrophe, representing humanity's second major effort to place international law above international anarchy. As stated in the Charter, the UN was founded "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind." Given that we now live in the nuclear age, we must not repeat these mistakes—otherwise, humanity faces destruction, with no third chance to fulfill this mission. The full text of the speech follows, translated with AI assistance
Meeting Chair: I now give the floor to Mr. Jeffrey Sachs. Mr. Jeffrey Sachs: Mr. President, distinguished members of the Security Council: The issue before the Security Council today is not the nature of the Venezuelan government, but whether any member state has the right to determine Venezuela's political future or interfere in its internal affairs through force, coercion, or economic suffocation. This question directly concerns Article 2(4) of the UN Charter—which explicitly prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. The Security Council must decide whether this prohibition should be upheld or disregarded. Disregarding it would have extremely grave consequences. Allow me to provide some background: Since 1947, US foreign policy has repeatedly pursued regime change in other countries through force, covert operations, and political manipulation. This is a well-documented historical fact—political scientist Lindsey O'Rourke documents in her book "Covert Regime Change" that between 1947 and 1989 alone, the United States attempted 70 regime change operations. These practices did not end with the Cold War. Since 1989, the US has conducted numerous far-reaching regime change operations without Security Council authorization, including in Iraq (2003), Libya, Syria (since 2011), Honduras (2009), Ukraine, and Venezuela. The methods employed are well-established and clearly documented, including:
Open warfare, covert intelligence operations, inciting unrest, and supporting armed groups; Manipulating mass media and social media, bribing military, police, and civilian officials; Targeted assassinations, false flag operations, and economic warfare.
These measures violate the UN Charter and typically result in sustained violence, deadly conflict, political instability, and profound suffering for civilians. The recent US record on Venezuela is equally clear:
In April 2002, the US knew about and approved an attempted coup against the Venezuelan government; During the 2010s, the US funded civil society groups actively participating in anti-government protests, imposing a series of sanctions after the government suppressed protests; In 2017, President Barack Obama declared Venezuela "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States" (direct quote); During the same year's UN General Assembly, President Trump openly discussed the possibility of US invasion to overthrow Venezuela's government at a dinner with Latin American leaders; In 2020, the US imposed comprehensive sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, causing a 75% decline in oil production compared to 2016 and a 62% drop in per capita real GDP.
The UN General Assembly has repeatedly voted overwhelmingly against such unilateral coercive measures. Under international law, only the Security Council has the authority to impose such measures. On January 23, 2019, the US unilaterally recognized Juan Guaidó as "interim president," freezing approximately $70 billion of Venezuela's overseas sovereign assets days later and authorizing certain parties to control portions of these assets. These actions are part of the US's ongoing two-decade effort to promote regime change in Venezuela. Over the past year, the US has conducted bombing campaigns in 7 countries—Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and now Venezuela—all without Security Council authorization and not in accordance with the Charter's principles of legitimate self-defense. Over the past month, President Trump has directly threatened 6 UN member states: Colombia, Denmark, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and Venezuela. Security Council members need not pass judgment on Nicolás Maduro, nor assess whether recent US attacks and ongoing naval blockades bring "freedom" or "conquest." The duty of Security Council members is to defend international law, particularly the UN Charter. The realist school of international relations describes international anarchy as "the tragedy of great power politics." But realism is merely a description, not a solution for achieving peace—its core conclusion is that anarchy inevitably leads to tragedy. After World War I, the League of Nations was established to end such tragedies through the application of international law, but the world's major powers failed to defend international law in the 1930s, ultimately triggering a new global war. The United Nations was born from this catastrophe, representing humanity's second major effort to place international law above international anarchy. As stated in the Charter, the UN was founded "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind." Given that we now live in the nuclear age, we must not repeat these mistakes—otherwise, humanity faces destruction, with no third chance to fulfill this mission. According to Charter provisions, the Security Council should immediately take the following actions:
The United States should immediately cease and desist from all explicit or implicit threats and use of force against Venezuela; The United States should terminate its naval blockade and all coercive military measures not authorized by the Security Council; The United States should immediately withdraw all military forces from Venezuelan territory and border areas, including intelligence, naval, air force, and other forward-deployed assets used for coercive purposes; Venezuela should comply with human rights protected by the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; The Secretary-General should immediately appoint a special envoy authorized to engage with Venezuelan stakeholders and international interested parties, submitting Charter-compliant recommendations to the Security Council within 14 days; The Security Council should continue addressing this matter urgently; All member states should refrain from unilateral threats, coercive measures, or armed actions not authorized by the Security Council.
Finally, Mr. President, distinguished Security Council members: Peace and human survival depend on whether the UN Charter remains an effective instrument of international law or becomes an irrelevant piece of paper. This is precisely the choice facing this Security Council today. Thank you. Meeting Chair: Thank you, Mr. Sachs, for your briefing.
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