UN Rapporteur Confirms Dire Impacts of Sanctions on Iranians' Life
TEHRAN (FNA)- United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Negative Impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures on the Enjoyment of Human Rights Alena Douhan confirmed the negative impacts of harsh sanctions on the Iranian people, and invited the UN to come up with mechanisms of compensation, remedy and redress for victims of the unilateral coercive measures (UCMs).
Douhan paid an 11-day visit to Iran in May, meeting with the country's human rights officials and members of nongovernmental organizations. The visit was aimed at gathering information on the impact of sanctions in order to hold countries imposing such unilateral measures to account.
On Monday, Iran's High Council for Human Rights released the main highlights of Douhan’s report, in which she has given a detailed account of the impact of unilateral sanctions on various economic, financial, medical, and humanitarian aspects of Iranians’ life, calling for countries imposing those sanctions to remove them in accordance with the rules of international law.
“Since 1979, the US has imposed economic, trade and financial sanctions, with a comprehensive trade ban since 1995 and significant measures to isolate Iran from the international commercial and financial system... However, since the mid-2000s, a series of executive orders and specific laws have created a broad and complicated framework of prohibitions and bans, which intensified after 2010 and extended to the energy sector and other key economic sectors,” she said.
Douhan also touched upon unilateral sanctions imposed on Iran by US allies, including the European Union, Australia, and Canada after 2010, noting those countries have maintained their sanctions and restrictions, including trade bans on certain equipment, as well as asset freezes and travel bans for a number of designated individuals and entities.
“Iran has suffered from the extension of US jurisdiction in international banking transactions, due to the involvement of US correspondent banks or payments in USD, which has not only caused serious disruptions and delays in the provision of basic goods, including food, medicines, medical and other equipment and raw materials, but also has seriously impeded Iran’s engagement in international cooperation, including payments of membership fees to international organizations and associations, access to funding opportunities, and participation of Iranians and Iranian institutions in academic and scientific programs, cultural and sport activities,” the UN rapporteur added.
Douhan concluded that the use of unilateral sanctions, secondary sanctions and over-compliance has an overall adverse effect on the broad spectrum of human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural, including the right to life and the right to development.
She stated that Iran’s annual GDP growth averaged 4.6% between 2000 and 2010, but it then shrank by an average of 1.7% between 2011 and 2015 as unilateral sanctions intensified, adding, “Inflation has also been affected by the changing environment induced by unilateral sanctions and by the effects of the Iranian currency devaluation due to financial restrictions and foreign assets freezes.”
Explaining on the medical consequences of unilateral US sanctions, Douhan said, “Iran produces around 95% of its medicines and basic vaccines to mitigate the impact of unilateral sanctions, with reportedly good manufacturing and quality assurance systems. However, Iranian pharmaceutical companies have difficulty procuring raw materials and ingredients of necessary quality, with increased costs affecting purchases from abroad.”
“Of particular concern is the significant challenges faced in the procurement and delivery of life-saving medicines and medical equipment, produced by foreign companies and destined for the treatment of rare diseases, including certain types of cancer, thalassemia, hemophilia, leukemia, ichthyosis, multiple sclerosis, epidermolysis bullosa (EB), autism, and certain forms of diabetes,” she added.
Douhan underlined she visited a specialized center for the treatment of EB patients, which is a rare skin disorder with a number of other related health complications, which provokes from birth incurable acute suffering and may lead to death.
She underscored that due to sanctions, the center has been facing challenges in procuring specialized absorbent silicone dressings that are produced by a single company in Sweden due to over-compliance by the Swedish producer.
“Unilateral sanctions against Iran do not conform to a broad number of international legal norms and principles, are introduced to apply pressure on a state, cannot be justified as countermeasures under the law of international responsibility, and therefore can be qualified as unilateral coercive measures repeatedly condemned in resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly,” the UN official said.
Douhan concluded her report by calling on sanctioning states to lift all unilateral measures against Iran, Iranian nationals and companies, as being imposed without the authorization of the UN Security Council and whose use cannot be justified as retortions or countermeasures in accordance with international law.
She also asked those countries “to remove especially all restrictions on trade, financial payments and delivery of food, medicines and medical equipment”, while urging the US government to "cease the state of national emergency regarding Iran ... and to bring national legislation into accordance with international law".
Douhan also called on the UN “to engage with her in developing a conceptual framework for mechanisms of compensation, remedy and redress for victims of human rights violations due to UCMs".
In 2018, the United States began to unilaterally reimpose sanctions against Iran after former President Donald Trump's administration abandoned the 2015 nuclear agreement and launched what it called a maximum pressure campaign against Tehran at the time, targeting the Iranian nation with the “toughest ever” sanctions.
Washington has insisted that sanctions on Tehran do not affect the trade of humanitarian items and food. However, strict bans on banking transactions involving Iran have made it impossible for the country to access critically needed medicine and medical equipment over the past years.
Iranian authorities say the Unite States has been bullying companies in Europe and other parts of the world to make them stop trading with Tehran.
Tehran says it will not be able to trust Washington as long as President Joe Biden continues the wrong policy of maximum pressure and sanctions practiced by Trump against Iran. Iranian officials say the Biden administration has yet done nothing but hollow promises to lift sanctions against Tehran. They blast the US addiction to sanctions, and slammed the POTUS for continuing his predecessor's policy on Iran.