HCHR_Referring to the impact of unilateral sanctions on the right to health, at the "Second International Congress on the Right to Health" which was held in Shahid Beheshti University with the presence of officials and top professors in the field of justice, health and medical system, Kazem Gharibabadi, the Vice-President of the Judiciary for International Affairs and the Secretary-General of the High Council for Human Rights stated: “One of the tools of foreign policy in order to put pressure on a country is the imposition of unilateral economic sanctions, which ultimately puts a lot of pressure on citizens and governments under sanctions”.
Gharibabadi added: “Most jurists believe that the sanctions of the Security Council are subject to limitations, which is the necessity of observing and respecting human rights”. He further noted: “Since the establishment of the United Nations, the position of human rights has entered a treaty system from a customary system. The provisions of the United Nations Charter, as a founding document, emphasize the promotion and protection of human rights and create a mandatory duty for countries that even the Security Council must comply with these provisions in their resolutions, especially when imposing sanctions against countries, which will not be enforceable if the decisions are outside of these regulations”.
Sanctions target all people of a country
Referring to the non-derogable rights in the human rights issue, the Secretary-General of the HCHR stated: “Even if there is no convention and even if countries are not members of international treaties, no one can violate these rights, because they have become customary rights and jus cogens, therefore they cannot be violated even in emergency situations. The rights include the right to life, the prohibition of torture and the prohibition of slavery. Even the Security Council cannot impose sanctions on countries and ignore human rights citing an emergency situation such as international peace and security”.
Gharibabadi added: “During the comprehensive sanctions in Iraq, more than 500 thousand children lost their lives. After that, smart or targeted sanctions were proposed, but these sanctions also affected the entire society in the target country. When they embargo the sale of oil of a country which is the main source of its income, development and prosperity of that country, they target the entire society”.
Access to the right to health without discrimination is one of the basic human rights
The Vice-President of the Judiciary reminded: “Sanctions affect different areas; including the right to life, the right to education, the right to development, the right to health, etc. The right to health has been recognized in various international documents. According to Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to a decent life, including health and medical care. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights also emphasizes the highest state of physical and mental health. Article 12 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 5 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination emphasize these rights.
He also stated: “The preamble of the World Health Organization's Charter also states that benefiting from the highest attainable standards of health, without discrimination in terms of race, religion, political opinion, and economic and social conditions, is one of the fundamental rights of every human being. The member states of the Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights also have two basic obligations regarding the right to health. The first commitment is that there should be no discrimination in the health system and systematic discrimination should be dealt with. The second obligation is to implement this right with appropriate measures.
The destructive effect of unilateral sanctions on access to medical equipment and essential medicine for certain patients
Referring to the sanctions in the field of medicine, the Secretary-General of the HCHR said: “Medicine is one of the essential aspects of the right to health. Unilateral and secondary sanctions have severely affected access to medical equipment and essential medicine for certain patients. Another indicator of the right to health is access to safe drinking water, which is very necessary for survival. In addition to the death of children, contaminated and unhealthy water can lead to permanent damage in their physical and mental development.
In another part of his speech, Gharibabadi addressed the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Negative Impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures on the Enjoyment of Human Rights, after her visit to Iran last year. He stated: “Mrs. Alena Douhan's report emphasizes that sanctions have directly affected the lives of Iranian. According to this report, Iran produces about 95% of its basic medicines and vaccines to reduce the impact of unilateral sanctions with production systems and ensure optimal quality, however, Iranian pharmaceutical companies have problems in providing raw materials of suitable quality and also the increase in costs affects the purchase of the materials from abroad.
Drug shortages caused by sanctions led to a 4-fold increase in the death rate of thalassemia patients
He continued: “Mrs. Douhan also says that there are important challenges in providing life-saving medicine and medical equipment produced by foreign companies and for the treatment of rare diseases, including certain types of cancer, thalassemia, hemophilia, MS, and diabetes. Although the text of the sanctions states that medicines and medical equipment are not affected by sanctions due to humanitarian exemptions, their supply to Iran has been severely reduced due to international financial restrictions and sanctions. Also, the over-compliance of suppliers of these items seriously hinders all Iranians from enjoying the highest health standards.
The Deputy of the Judiciary added: “It is noted in the report of the SR that since November 2018, health care costs have increased by 67%. In addition, in 2021, Iran was able to import one and a half million injection doses for thalassemia patients out of the required 10 million doses, while it was not possible to import oral medicine for these patients. Such deficiencies lead to a 4-time increase in the death rate among thalassemia patients. Seeking for alternative ways to procure and pay through intermediaries and complex payment methods is also one of the key factors in increasing the cost of procurement of medicine and medical equipment.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice regarding the sanctions
Gharibabadi continued: “In the continuation of her report, the SR says that she visited a specialized treatment center for EB patients. This suffering can only be reduced by using bandages produced by a company in Sweden. The medical center for providing these bandages is facing sanctions challenges resulting from over-compliance of the company from US sanctions. The SR has even reported on the banning of the software that is needed to adjust the dose of medicine for cancer patients”.
The Secretary-General of the HCHR went on to say: “We have a strong health and treatment system and the government, the Ministry of Health and medical centers have made all their efforts in the field of health, but we should not ignore the crime committed by the sanctioning countries against the people of Iran. Whether the sanctions are international and imposed by the Security Council or unilateral sanctions, they affect the enjoyment of human rights by people in the countries under sanctions. Due to the extensive and parallel damages of sanctions, they are also referred to as weapons of war”.
In the end, the Secretary-General stated: “The imposition of sanctions causes the international responsibility of the imposers and implementers of the sanctions. The actions of these countries can be pursued in national and international courts. The Islamic Republic of Iran filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice regarding the sanctions, and we must make the cruel and inhumane actions costly for the sanctioning countries”.