US Sanctions Jeopardize Iranian Rights to Health: UN Experts
3 Min Read
The United States has been exercising its maximum pressure policy on Iran for decades at this point, causing nothing but crises and misery for the Iranian people.
-
Iranian child suffering from epidermolysis bullosa
The US imposing sanctions on countries whose views Washington opposes is a tale as old as time.
As far as we can see and tell, the US sanctions never seem to affect the 'political elite,' which Washington paints to be the target of said sanctions. Instead, these sanctions riddle the target country with numerous economic, financial, and humanitarian crises.
Countries hit by US sanctions often suffer from inflation, are pushed to the brink of famine, and are put in dire need of humanitarian assistance, rendering them carrion for the US IMF hawks. Ultimately, these sanctions only affect the country's people rather than the alleged 'target.'
UN experts warned Tuesday that over-compliance with US sanctions could strip Iranians of their basic health rights. The experts cited sufferers of a rare skin disease, epidermolysis bullosa or EB, as an example.
"Many banks and businesses, including pharmaceutical and medical companies around the world, over-comply with sanctions out of fear of potential penalties," said the experts in a statement.
US sanctions on Iran have seen a Swedish company halting the sale of bandages to Tehran amid a great need for them. The Swedish firm halting said sale led to the death of 30 EB patients, most of which were children.
Children and patients of EB have been unable to access a certain type of bandage that provides vital relief and prevents life-threatening infections.
A special UN rapporteur, Alena Douhan, has reached out to the Swedish firm company and government to address what has been described as "shortfalls in the due diligence processes applied to ensure that no human rights are violated."
"When sales of a medical product that improves the right to health and prevents suffering are halted in a country, and no equivalent alternative product is available, that right is harmed for people who were helped by it," assured the experts.
Although this stance does not reflect the United Nation's, it could still lead to providing assistance for the sanction-riddled country.
Despite pharmaceutical and medical equipment not falling under international sanctions, the US nevertheless prevented Tehran from using the international payment systems, leading it to suffer from a shortage of drugs needed for the treatment of nearly 30 illnesses, including cancer.
The US has been exerting a maximum pressure policy on Iran in an attempt to make Tehran submit and make concessions with regards to the JCPOA, which Washington withdrew from under Trump.
