UN experts said this week that US sanctions on Iran are causing more deaths of Iranians with thalassemia, a congenital blood disorder that requires specialized medicine.
“The lack of access to medication has resulted in many more deaths,” two UN experts, Alena Douhan and Obiora C. Okafor, said, according to a press release put out by the UN on Tuesday.
“Since the re-imposition of sanctions against Iran by the US in 2018, over-compliance with sanctions has escalated, affecting the import of life-saving iron-regulating medicines for Iranian thalassemia patients. This not only violates their right to health, but also results in increased complications and mortality rates,” Douhan and Okafor said.
The US insists that sanctions on Iran technically have exemptions for humanitarian goods. But history shows international banks and companies generally avoid doing business with heavily-sanctioned nations altogether due to fears of running afoul of the restrictions.
“The humanitarian exemptions for medical goods in US sanctions regulations are complex and unclear. In addition, recent US practices impose high fines on pharmaceutical companies selling medicine to Iran, triggering fear in medical, delivery, and insurance business sectors,” the experts said.
They said that a key medicine for thalassemia produced by the Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis and ingredients for these medicines made by the French company Roquette Frères were denied to Iran due to sanctions. According to the UN press release, Iran has a “particularly high” number of thalassemia patients who require specialized medicines during blood transfusions.
Douhan and Okafor said the legality of US sanctions and their enforcement is “doubtful under international law.” They called for the US to “ensure that humanitarian exemptions for medicines are effectively implemented, that any obstacles in financial transactions for medical purposes are lifted, and that no secondary sanctions are imposed on those individuals or entities engaging with Iran and Iranian businesses in this regard.”
Douhan is a UN special rapporteur for the impact of unilateral coercive measures and has previously called for the lifting of all sanctions on Iran due to their impact on civilians. More recently, she has called for the US and other Western countries to lift sanctions on Syria in the wake of a devastating earthquake that has killed about 6,000 Syrians.
The US issued a 180-day exemption for its sanctions on Syria that applies to “all transactions related to earthquake relief efforts.” But Douhan and other UN experts say it’s not enough and are calling for the lifting of all sanctions, which are specifically designed to prevent Syria’s reconstruction.
“The US insists that sanctions on Iran technically have exemptions for humanitarian goods. But history shows international banks and companies generally avoid doing business with heavily-sanctioned nations altogether due to fears of running afoul of the restrictions.”
The US knows god damned well that this is the case. Fucking heartless bastards doing Israel’s dirty work.
Tsk.tsk,Tsk. Speaking of “heartless Bastards”-how bout the 8b people killed by Iranin the AMIA bombing,or the Iranian dissidents who have been .murdered
I’m sure all of those deaths make a great justification for killing an entire population of a country. Please return your blue book to the nearest library.
Simple English please for us unenlightened ones-what the fork is a “blue book”? Who speaks of killing an ‘entire population”?
I’m guessing you wouldn’t have responded to my comment if I hadn’t said “doing Israel’s dirty work”. So, I’ll address that first.
Here’s Trump:
Trump said his decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran — which the current administration is seeking to return to — was “because of my relations with Israel.”
Now about the “8b” killed in the AMIA bombing. Is the number “5” key on your computer right next to the letter “b”? And do you have to keep bringing up what allegedly Iran did 30 years ago? Anything current like the terror attacks by Israel? Like murdering scientists or sabotaging Iranian civilian nuclear sites?
Regarding the Iranian dissidents being “murdered”, I wonder how other countries would react to the constant outside influence that is trying to bring about regime change in Iran. Not that it is relevant to our sanctions that are killing the very common Iranian that our regime change is supposed to benefit, but it would be interesting to see. But once again I will say that I don’t back the theocratic regime of Iran any more than I back the theocratic regime of Israel.
So Jake, tell me, are you for the Iranians dying because the US insists on doing Israel’s dirty work?
That’ll show ’em. Those sick bastards should’ve overthrown the mullahs instead of whining about the medicines they can’t get. Freedom isn’t free, and neither is Big Pharma. /sarc
UN always does the same. Raises alarms, and works to find any way to insert itself into a country. After that to peddle politics from inside.
As if no other country has this medicion except the superior West!
I am sure people actually believe that. That whole world is begging us for medicine! In reality. Americans are running away from dodgy medications. bying Chinese instead through Amazon.
Medications are available to Iran from dizens of sources. Three major being Russia, China and India.
Seriously, cannot stand UN moaning, peddled by mostly Western appointees in most agencies. Iccassionally they find a suitable specimen from a third world, for diversity. You can bet that thise are very maleable.
UN needs to be relocated to a neutral country with No military…!
Yes-an the UN needs to be supported by these imaginary neutral countries.
“UN Experts: Iranians With Blood Disorder are Dying Due to US Sanctions Sanctions have reduced their access to medicine”
BRICS is expanding and America is increasingly seen as a pariah killing innocent people in Syria, Iran, and other countries.
America failed to win hearts and minds in Vietnam in the 1960s and Afghanistan over the past decade: It never learned from those failures.
Sanctions are an Abuse of Human Rights.