Jeffrey Sachs "Eloquently" Addresses the United Nations: Humanity's Survival Depends on How the Security Council Handles the Venezuelan Situation

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After the upheaval in Venezuela, world-renowned economist and senior international affairs scholar Jeffrey Sachs delivered a keynote speech online at the United Nations.

As a globally acclaimed economist and an authority in international development, Sachs is known for his "shock therapy" economic theory. He has helped many countries resolve debt crises and hyperinflation, possessing both profound academic expertise and practical experience.

Sachs emphasized that since 1947, U.S. foreign policy has repeatedly used force, covert actions, and political manipulation to promote regime change in other countries. These measures violate the UN Charter and often result in ongoing violence, lethal conflict, political instability, and deep suffering among civilians.

After World War I, the League of Nations was established to end such tragedy through the application of international law, but the world's major powers failed to defend international law in the 1930s, ultimately leading to a new world war. The United Nations was born out of this catastrophe, becoming humanity's second major effort to place international law above the international state of 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 are now living in the nuclear age, we must not repeat past mistakes—otherwise, humanity will face destruction and there will be no third chance to fulfill this mission.

Key points of the speech:

Since 1947, U.S. foreign policy has multiple times used force, covert action, and political manipulation to promote regime change in other countries. This is a well-documented historical fact: between 1947 and 1989 alone, the U.S. attempted 70 regime change operations.

Over the past year, the U.S. conducted bombing operations in 7 countries, all without authorization from the Security Council and not in accordance with the Charter’s lawful self-defense principles.

The world’s major powers failed to defend international law in the 1930s, ultimately leading to a new global war. The United Nations was born out of this catastrophe, becoming humanity’s second effort to put international law above international anarchy.

Given that we are now living in the nuclear age, we must not repeat past mistakes—otherwise, humanity will face destruction and there will be no third chance to fulfill this mission.

We Are Already in the Nuclear Era and Must Not Repeat Past Mistakes

Sachs stated that it is the duty of Security Council members to defend international law, especially the United Nations 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 peace—its fundamental conclusion is that anarchy inevitably leads to tragedy.

After World War I, the League of Nations was established to end this tragedy through the application of international law, but the world’s major powers failed to defend international law in the 1930s, ultimately leading to a new world war.

The United Nations was born out of this catastrophe, becoming humanity’s second effort to put 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 are now living in the nuclear age, we must not repeat past mistakes—otherwise, humanity will face destruction and there will be no third chance to fulfill this mission.

The following is the full text of the speech, with AI-assisted translation:

Chairperson:

Now, I invite Mr. Jeffrey Sachs to speak.

Mr. Jeffrey Sachs:

Mr. Chair, esteemed 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 intervene in its internal affairs through force, coercion, or economic strangulation.

This question directly concerns Article 2, Paragraph 4 of the United Nations 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. If disregarded, extremely serious consequences will result.

Allow me to provide some background: Since 1947, U.S. foreign policy has repeatedly used force, covert action, and political manipulation to promote regime change in other countries. This is a well-documented historical fact—Political scientist Lindsey O'Rourke, in her book Covert Regime Change, records that from 1947 to 1989 alone, the U.S. attempted 70 regime change operations.

These practices did not stop with the end of the Cold War. Since 1989, the U.S. has carried out multiple significant regime change operations without Security Council authorization, including Iraq in 2003, Libya, Syria since 2011, Honduras in 2009, Ukraine, and Venezuela. The methods employed are well-established and documented, including:Open warfare, covert intelligence operations, inciting unrest, 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 all violate the United Nations Charter and usually result in ongoing violence, deadly conflict, political turmoil, and profound suffering for civilians.

The recent U.S. record on Venezuela is also clear:In April 2002, the U.S. was aware of and approved an attempted coup against the Venezuelan government;During the 2010s, the U.S. funded civil society groups that actively participated in anti-government protests; after the government suppressed these protests, the U.S. immediately imposed a series of sanctions;In 2017, President Barack Obama declared Venezuela "an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States" (quoted verbatim);During the same year's UN General Assembly, President Trump, at a dinner with Latin American leaders, publicly discussed the possibility of a U.S. invasion of Venezuela to overthrow its government;In 2020, the U.S. imposed comprehensive sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company (PDVSA), causing oil production to fall by 75% compared to 2016 and real GDP per capita to fall by 62%.

The UN General Assembly has repeatedly voted overwhelmingly against such unilateral coercive measures. Under international law, only the Security Council has the authority to implement such measures. On January 23, 2019, the U.S. unilaterally recognized Juan Guaidó as "interim president," and days later froze about $7 billion in Venezuela's overseas sovereign assets, authorizing certain parties to take control of some assets.

These actions are part of the U.S.'s over twenty years of ongoing efforts to promote regime change in Venezuela.

In the past year, the U.S. conducted bombing operations in 7 countries, all without Security Council authorization or meeting the Charter's principles of lawful self-defense. These countries include Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and now Venezuela. Over the past month, President Trump directly threatened six UN member states: Colombia, Denmark, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, and Venezuela.

Security Council members do not need to judge Nicolás Maduro, nor assess whether recent U.S. attacks and its ongoing naval blockade have brought "freedom" or "conquest." The duty of Security Council members is to defend international law, especially the United Nations 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 peace—its core conclusion is that anarchy will inevitably lead to tragedy.

After World War I, the League of Nations was established to end this tragedy through the application of international law, but the world's major powers failed to defend international law in the 1930s, ultimately leading to a new world war.

The United Nations was born out of this catastrophe, becoming humanity’s second effort to put 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 are now living in the nuclear age, we must not repeat past mistakes—otherwise, humanity will face destruction and there will be no third chance to fulfill this mission.

In accordance with the Charter, the Security Council should immediately take the following actions:The United States should immediately cease and abandon all explicit or implicit threats and uses of force against Venezuela;The United States should end its maritime blockade and all coercive military measures not authorized by the Security Council;The United States should immediately withdraw all military forces from Venezuela's territory and border areas, including intelligence, naval, air force, and other frontline assets used for coercion;Venezuela should comply with the human rights protected by the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;It is recommended that the Secretary-General immediately appoint a special envoy, authorized to engage with relevant Venezuelan parties and international stakeholders, and submit Charter-compliant recommendations to the Security Council within 14 days;The Security Council should continue to urgently address this issue;All member states should avoid unilateral threats, coercive measures, or armed actions not authorized by the Security Council.

Finally, Mr. Chair and esteemed members of the Security Council: The maintenance of peace and the survival of humanity depend on whether the United Nations Charter can remain effective as an instrument of international law, or whether it will be reduced to an irrelevant scrap of paper. This is the choice facing the Council today. Thank you.

Chairperson:

Thank you, Mr. Sachs, for your briefing.

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