View source for Humanitarian impacts of U.S. sanctions against Iran

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{{Infobox event
| title                    = Humanitarian impacts of U.S. sanctions against Iran
| image                    = Iranian girl with EB.jpg
| caption                  = An Iranian girl with EB sores around her neck
| image_upright            =
| image_alt                =
| reported deaths          = Approximately 30 Iranian patients with EB —mostly children<ref name=":0" /><br /> A [[haemophilia|haemophilic]] teenage boy<ref name="GuardianII"/>
| accused                  = [[U.S. sanctions against Iran]]
| outcome                  = Negative impact on Iranians' right to health, education, and other human rights aspects
| casualties1              =
}}
The [[United States sanctions against Iran]] have had negative humanitarian impacts on Iranian society.<ref name="abc"/> Due to the broad nature of the sanctions, Iranians' right to health, education, and other human rights aspects have been adversely impacted. U.S. secondary sanctions have led to "over-compliance" by some companies.<ref name="UN"/> Sanctions have had an impact on people's life in addition to the availability of drugs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baradaran-Seyed |first1=Zahra |last2=Majdzadeh |first2=Reza |title=Economic sanctions strangle Iranians' health, not just drug supply |url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)61024-7/fulltext |journal=The Lancet |access-date=28 July 2022 |pages=1626 |language=English |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61024-7 |date=11 May 2013|volume=381 |issue=9878 |pmid=23663950 |s2cid=205969378 }}</ref> More people have reportedly died as a result of the sanctions than from the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|US-Iraq war]] in Iran.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gorji |first1=Ali |title=Sanctions against Iran: The Impact on Health Services |journal=Iranian Journal of Public Health |date=2014 |volume=42|issue=3|pages=381–382|pmid=25988101 |pmc=4419179 }}</ref>
Children with  [[epidermolysis bullosa]], also known as butterfly kids, [[haemophilia|haemophilic]]s and people with HIV disease are among the most affected vulnerable groups. U.S. sanctions have also hindered Iran's ability to combat the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
== U.S. sanctions against Iran ==
{{Main|United States sanctions against Iran}}
Since 1979, the United States has imposed various sanctions on economic, trade, scientific and military aspects against Iran. The U.S. sanctions against Iran include an embargo on dealings with the country by the U.S., and a ban on selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian aviation companies.<ref name="auto">Haidar, J.I., 2017."[https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/haidar/files/haidar-sanctionsandexportdeflection-finaldraft.pdf Sanctions and Exports Deflection: Evidence from Iran]," Economic Policy (Oxford University Press), April 2017, Vol. 32(90), pp. 319-355.</ref>
==Humanitarian aspects==
The U.S. sanctions against Iran are accompanied by negative humanitarian impacts.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moret |first1=Erica S. |title=Humanitarian impacts of economic sanctions on Iran and Syria |journal=European Security |date=2 January 2015 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=120–140 |doi=10.1080/09662839.2014.893427 |s2cid=154734762 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09662839.2014.893427|access-date=23 June 2022}}</ref><ref name="abc">{{cite news |last1=Vahdat |first1=Amir |title=UN envoy: US sanctions on Iran worsen humanitarian situation |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/envoy-us-sanctions-iran-worsen-humanitarian-situation-84810431 |access-date=25 June 2022 |work=ABC News |agency=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref> According to international law, the United States must assess the impact of its [[Economic sanctions|sanctions]] on Iranians' rights and address any breaches caused by sanctions. Because of the vast network of US sanctions, banks and firms have withdrawn from humanitarian trade with Iran, leaving Iranians with rare or severe diseases unable to obtain the medicine and treatments needed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iran: Sanctions Threatening Health |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/29/iran-sanctions-threatening-health |website=Human Rights Watch |access-date=23 June 2022 |language=en |date=29 October 2019}}</ref>
According to [[Alena Douhan]], the U.N. special rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures, the groups including "[people with] severe diseases, disabled people, Afghan refugees, women-led households and children" are adversely affected by the measures. She added that "sanctions have been substantially exacerbating the humanitarian situation in Iran."<ref name="abc"/>
==Medical and pharmaceutical aspects==
Pharmaceuticals and medical equipment do not fall under international sanctions, but Iran is facing shortages of drugs for the treatment of 30 illnesses—including [[cancer]], heart and breathing problems, [[thalassemia]] and [[multiple sclerosis]] (MS)—because it is not allowed to use international payment systems.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://payvand.com/news/12/may/1062.html|title=Iran Sanctions Result In Shortages of Cancer Drugs, Heart Medicine|access-date=7 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211095114/http://payvand.com/news/12/may/1062.html|archive-date=11 December 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a survey by the [[Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars]], drug imports to Iran from the United States and Europe declined by around 30% in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Varkiani|first1=Adrienne|title=Ordinary People Will Finally Begin To See Benefits Of The Iranian Nuclear Deal|url=http://thinkprogress.org/world/2016/01/15/3740016/ordinary-people-will-finally-begin-to-see-benefits-of-the-iranian-nuclear-deal/|access-date=18 January 2016|work=ThinkProgress|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117191716/http://thinkprogress.org/world/2016/01/15/3740016/ordinary-people-will-finally-begin-to-see-benefits-of-the-iranian-nuclear-deal/|archive-date=17 January 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2013, the Guardian stated that over 85,000 cancer patients required rare forms of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Western governments had established exemptions within the sanctions regime to ensure that vital medications could get through, but these exemptions were in conflict with blanket banking restrictions and limits on "dual-use" chemicals that may have both a medical and a military function.<ref name="Guardian1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/13/iran-lifesaving-drugs-international-sanctions |title=Iran unable to get life-saving drugs due to international sanctions |first1=Julian |last1=Borger |first2=Saeed Kamali |last2=Dehghan |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=13 January 2013 |location=London |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226060552/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jan/13/iran-lifesaving-drugs-international-sanctions |archive-date=26 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
===Butterfly children===
[[File:Epidermolysis bullosa In Iran 02.jpg|thumb|A child with EB, from south of [[Kerman province]], [[Iran]].]]
The [[epidermolysis bullosa]] (EB) is a severe and potentially fatal skin condition that causes excruciatingly painful wounds and is mostly seen in children, who are dubbed "butterfly kids" due to their delicate skin.<ref name="UN" /> The skin sores for those with EB becomes so painful that the patients often compare their skin to [[Third degree burns|third-degree burns]]. Speaking to [[Al Jazeera English|Aljazeera]], an Iranian EB patient compared the pain with "boiling water, drop by drop falling on your skin."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Gadzo |first=Mersiha |title=Iranians with rare disease dying under US sanctions |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/28/iranians-with-epidermolysis-bullosa-dying-under-us-sanctions |access-date=2022-07-01 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}</ref> In spite of this, [[Mölnlycke Health Care]], a Swedish company that manufactures, ''Mepilex'' absorbent foam dressing,<ref name=":0" /> the bandages that are said to be the most effective therapy for their condition, has decided to stop shipments to Iran due to fears about secondary sanctions<ref name="TT">{{Cite web |last=Bakhtiari |first=Faranak |date=2019-12-22 |title=EB patients, the most oppressed victims of U.S. sanctions |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/443297/EB-patients-the-most-oppressed-victims-of-U-S-sanctions |access-date=2022-07-01 |website=Tehran Times |language=en}}</ref> as a result of over-compliance.<ref name="UN">{{cite web |title=Over-compliance with US sanctions hurting Iran's 'butterfly kids' |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1103392 |website=UN News |access-date=25 June 2022 |language=en |date=19 October 2021}}</ref> The Iranian Centre for International Criminal Law (ICICL), based in [[The Hague]], stated in 2021 that approximately 30 Iranian patients with EB —mostly children—have died since Mölnlycke ceased selling its [[Dressing (medical)|wound dressing]] to Iran.<ref name=":0" /> In response to an inquiry by EB Home, an Iranian NGO that helped provide Iranian EB patients with the Swedish dressing, Molnlycke company stated in March 2019 that due to the [[U.S. sanctions against Iran|U.S. sanctions]] it "decided not to conduct any business with relation to Iran for the time being".<ref name=":0" />
On 19 December 2019, the Iranian ambassador to the UN, [[Majid Takht-Ravanchi|Majid Takht Ravanchi]], addressed the [[UN Security Council]] and mentioned a two-year-old girl, ''Ava'' who died due to EB, in his remarks:
{{Blockquote|text="Nowadays, the importation of these special bandages for EBs has become almost impossible, endangering the lives of innocent children like ''Ava''. Now butterflies are feeling the pain of the U.S. inhumane sanctions with their hearts and souls. In June this year, Ava was relieved of pain forever and passed away. Her story only reflects the tip of the iceberg, as children and adults with cancer and rare diseases are struggling in silence with death. Killing children and patients takes no courage!”|source=<ref name="TT"/>}}
===Haemophilia===
Approximately 40,000 [[haemophilia|haemophilic]]s were unable to obtain blood-clotting medications, and operations on haemophiliacs were effectively postponed due to the risks posed by the shortages.<ref name="Guardian1"/> A [[haemophilia|haemophilic]] teenage boy died from his illness as a result of a pharmaceutical shortage caused by the sanctions.<ref name="GuardianII">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/14/sanctions-stop-medicines-reaching-sick-iranians |title=Haemophiliac Iranian boy 'dies after sanctions disrupt medicine supplies' |first=Saeed Kamali |last=Dehghan |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=14 November 2012 |location=London |access-date=17 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122020547/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/14/sanctions-stop-medicines-reaching-sick-iranians |archive-date=22 November 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===HIV/AIDS===
An estimated 73,000 Iranians living with [[HIV/AIDS]] have very limited access to the medications they require to stay healthy. Interrupting HIV treatment due to lack of anti-retroviral medications can cause the HIV virus to mutate, resulting in resistant strains of the HIV virus, making it harder to treat. HIV medications, are crucial for managing HIV infection by suppressing the HIV virus. HIV medications can also maintain an undetectable viral count, making it impossible for the virus to replicate and transmit to others through sexual contact, blood transfusions, needles or breastfeeding. This is critical for preventing HIV transmission and reducing the spread of the epidemic globally ( [[Undetectable = Untransmittable ]]).
===Blood Disorders===
The organization representing the 8,000 Iranians with thalassemia, an inherited blood disorder, reported that its members were starting to die given the lack of an essential medicine, [[deferoxamine]], needed to regulate the iron content of the blood.
In addition, Iran was unable to purchase medical equipment such as [[autoclave]]s, which are required for the creation of numerous medications, since some of the largest Western pharmaceutical corporations declined to carry out business with the country.<ref name="Guardian1"/>
Specialty medications such as the blood thinner medication [[Rivaroxaban]], sold under the brand name Xarelto, has become very difficult to find and procure in Iran due to the U.S. sanctions. Blood thinner medications such as Xarelto are used to help prevent blood clotting for high risk patients.
===During the COVID-19 pandemic===
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], China, the United Kingdom, the [[Group of 77]], and experts urged the United States to ease sanctions on Iran to assist it in combating the increasing coronavirus outbreak.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wintour|first=Patrick|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/18/uk-presses-us-to-ease-iran-sanctions-to-help-fight-coronavirus|title=UK presses US to ease Iran sanctions to help fight coronavirus|date=18 March 2020|work=The Guardian|access-date=21 March 2020|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> "There is no doubt that Iran’s capacity to respond to the novel coronavirus has been hampered by the Trump administration's economic sanctions, and the death toll is likely much higher than it would have been as a result," Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) Co-director Mark Weisbrot said. He added that there was no doubt that the sanctions had hindered Iran's ability to contain the outbreak, resulting in more illnesses and potentially the virus' spreading outside the country's boundaries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cepr.net/press-release/us-government-should-immediately-lift-economic-sanctions-to-avoid-causing-more-deaths-from-pandemic-economists-say/|title=US Government Should Immediately Lift Economic Sanctions to Avoid Causing More Deaths From Pandemic, Economists Say|date=18 March 2020|website=Center for Economic and Policy Research|language=en-US|access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref>
The management of the COVID-19 crisis in Iran was made more complicated as a result of the sanctions consequences.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Takian|first1=Amirhossein|last2=Raoofi|first2=Azam|last3=Kazempour-Ardebili|first3=Sara|date=March 2020|title=COVID-19 battle during the toughest sanctions against Iran|journal=The Lancet|volume=395|issue=10229|pages=1035–1036|doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30668-1|issn=0140-6736|pmc=7138170|pmid=32199073}}</ref> [[Human Rights Watch]] issued a statement on April 6, 2020, urging the US to ease sanctions against Iran so that Iran could have "access to crucial humanitarian resources during the <nowiki>[</nowiki>coronavirus<nowiki>]</nowiki> [[COVID-19 pandemic|pandemic]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/human-rights-watch-urges-us-ease-sanctions-iran-amidst-growing|title=Human Rights Watch Urges US to Ease Sanctions on Iran Amidst Growing Pandemic|access-date=6 April 2020|website=VOA News|date=6 April 2020 }}</ref>
Bloomberg reported in October 2020 that US sanctions had blocked the shipping of 2 million doses of influenza vaccination. The [[Red Crescent Society]] of Iran reported that the severe economic sanctions rendered the local Shahr Bank insolvent, thereby halting the vital cargo.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iran Says U.S. Sanctions Halted Delivery of 2 Million Flu Vaccines |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-14/iran-says-u-s-sanctions-halted-delivery-of-two-million-flu-jabs |website=Bloomberg.com |access-date=25 June 2022 |language=en |date=14 October 2020}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[Maximum pressure campaign]]
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
[[Category:Sanctions against Iran]]
[[Category:Humanitarian crises]]
[[Category:Economic problems]]
[[Category:United States sanctions]]