A/HRC/9/2 page 3 7. With regard to the United States of America, the Government was concerned by two measures adopted in 2007: visa restrictions against Belarus, extended to the directors of Belarusian State enterprises and their deputies, as well as to the representatives of security agencies in Belarus; and the freezing of bank accounts of the Belarusian corporation, Belneftekhim, which are under United Nations jurisdiction, as well as those of its representatives in Germany, Latvia, Ukraine, the Russian Federation and China, together with the accounts of the American subsidiary Belneftekhim USA. The latter measure was extended to all enterprises falling within the structure of the corporation in 2008. With regard to the latest action taken by the United States, the Government circulated a letter (A/62/743) to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session. 8. The Government stated that, in adopting the above-mentioned unilateral coercive measures, the United States of America violated a number of international norms, multilateral treaties and bilateral agreements. It further highlighted that such measures ran counter to General Assembly resolutions 62/162 and 62/183. 9. With regard to the European Union, the Government highlighted two measures: visa restriction and the freezing of assets of a number of Belarusian officials as well as the freezing of assets of individual and corporate bodies, organizations and structures connected with them; and the temporary suspension of the Generalized System of Preferences in relation to Belarus. According to the Government, the former measure was adopted in the context of the position of the European Union on the outcome of the presidential elections held in Belarus on 19 March 2006, and the latter was taken in connection with the alleged violation of the freedom of association in Belarus. 10. The Government indicated that the above-mentioned unilateral coercive measures adopted by the European Union were unacceptable and incompatible with the norms of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. At the same time, the Government hoped that those measures were temporary in nature and will be lifted soon. Cuba [Original: Spanish] [7 July 2008] 11. The Government recalled that, in numerous resolutions and decisions, the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and international summits and conferences had determined that economic coercive measures were contrary to the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and to international law. It indicated that the main victims were the populations of the countries subjected to such measures, in particular the most vulnerable groups, such as children, women, the elderly and persons with disabilities. The Government assigned particular importance to this question, as Cuba was one of the developing countries whose people were victims of unilateral coercive measures imposed by developed countries, in particular by the United States of America.