Document Type : Original Independent Original Article
Authors
1 Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Doctoral student of International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Highlights
Introduction
The scopes of sanctions have been defined in the laws of the United Nations. In fact, the Charter of the United Nations will clearly revoke the sanctions that violate the human rights. However, the US has imposed unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Reducing the petroleum revenues of the IRI, these sanctions have led to the violation of the human rights. Since Iran earns its revenues mainly from the sales and export of petroleum, the unilateral US sanctions against Iran have decreased these revenues. In other words, the US has obstructed the economic ways of purchasing drugs, pharmaceutical raw materials, and medical equipment, something which has violated Iranian people’s right to health. In this regard, the human rights have clearly been violated as a result of the unilateral US sanctions against Iranians which have caused the deficiency of drugs, depreciation of medical equipment, decline of people’s purchase power, and increase in diseases.
Previous studies have analyzed the effects of the US sanctions on different areas. However, this study aims to address the impacts of sanctions on patients with special, rare, and pervasive diseases by considering the deficiency of drugs and medical equipment.
In this study, a documentary desk method was adopted to collect the necessary references. The study was then conducted through a descriptive-analytical method.
Although pharmaceutical products and medical equipment are officially considered humanitarian items and cannot be sanctioned, the US has imposed unilateral sanctions to reduce Iran’s revenues. As a result, drugs and medical equipment have been limited and depreciated in Iran; hence, Iranian people’s rights have been violated.
Methodology
Persian and English books, papers, and documents were reviewed in this study to analyze the concept of sanctions, especially the unilateral US sanctions imposed against the IRI in different historical periods. Finally, the status quo of patients with special, rare, and pervasive diseases was analyzed to determine the areas in which their right to health would be violated in the IRI.
Regarding the theoretical research framework, although the general discourse about the US foreign policy is always stated in liberalism, this country often acts practically in realism and speaks the language of power.
Given the offensive US policies such as Trump’s decision to exit the JCPOA and then impose unilateral sanctions against Iran, the offensive realism theory can be emphasized. In fact, Trump exerted pressure on Iran to maintain the US hegemony against China and Russia and improve the US security in the chaotic region.
Results and Discussion
Since Iran earns its export revenues mainly from the petroleum sales, this country has faced a dramatic reduction in revenues due to the unilateral US sanctions. For instance, the IRI soled much smaller amounts of petroleum in 2020 than in the first year after the Islamic Revolution (1980).
According to the research literature, the sanction policies formulated by the Trump administration have left large-scale impacts on five main areas of financing, purchasing and importing goods, manufacturing domestic products, and storing and distributing drugs. In particular, these sanctions have resulted in the deficiency of drugs for nearly six million patients with special and rare diseases. The sanctions have also paralyzed Iran’s pharmaceutical industry and disrupted the production of generic drugs. In other words, Iran has resorted to purchasing drugs or pharmaceutical raw materials of lower or suspicious quality from China and India instead of reputable American or European companies.
None of the punishments against the IRI forbids the export of humanitarian goods such as drugs and medical equipment directly. However, these sanctions have had adverse and indirect effects on people’s hygiene, welfare, and access to such services. In fact, the US has apparently exempted drugs from sanctions but prevents the sales of drugs and medical equipment with dual applications. It is also practically impossible to import other items due to financial constraints and obstructions.
Sanctions can definitely affect people’s livelihood when they are imposed by powerful countries. If these sanctions are as pervasive as the unilateral US sanctions against the IRI, they can violate the innocent people’s right to life. In fact, the right to life does not only mean the animal life or the plant life. It requires all the necessary tools for having a well-deserved human life. In such an intellectual framework, inhuman humiliating punishments are forbidden.
Conclusion
The unilateral US sanctions against the IRI, especially the maximum pressure policy adopted by Trump’s administration, have drastically declined Iran’s petroleum revenues and reduced Iranian people’s purchase power. As a result, it is now impossible to import drugs from reputable pharmaceutical companies. Another outcome is the depreciation of medical equipment. In fact, international pharmaceutical companies and banks all over the world are unwilling to conduct transactions with Iran due to secondary sanctions and difficulties in receiving money. This issue has played a key role in the deficiency of drugs and depreciation of medical equipment, something which has directly affected the health of Iranian citizens and has deprived them of their absolute right to health.
Overall, the unilateral US sanctions against the IRI under Trump’s administration have declined the living standards and reduced the quality of life in Iran, thereby violating the right to health.
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