The Role of Health Researchers in Documenting HealthSuffering and Crimes against Humanity Resulting from 2018US Sanctions against Iran
Sanctions have been prominent in the history of Iran-US political relations beginning with Iran’s 1979
Islamic Revolution. The US response to the hostage crisis (1979-1981) was to impose sanctions freezing
all Iranian assets held in the US. The 1980s and 1990s were marked by US sanctions on Iranian oil
resources and general trade. In 1996 the US passed the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act to penalize Iran for
weapons of mass destruction as the rationale for these sanctions, despite a lack of proof that Iran was
developing nuclear-related technology. These sanctions targeted the oil industry. In 2006 the US
mounted a financial embargo against Iran, banning all business transactions between the two countries,
citing Iran’s support of terrorist organizations as the rationale for these measures. In 2010 the
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions were implemented alongside various executive orders by former US
president Barack Obama. In addition, the United Nations Security Council imposed multilateral
sanctions in 2006 and 2011, referring to Iran’s “undeclared nuclear activity” as the international security
threat sparking these sanctions (Marossi & Bassett, 2015). Over the last four decades health service
providers and researchers have continued to work in Iran despite sanctions causing challenging
conditions, lack of medicine, and declining public health indicators (Gorgi, 2014; Velayati, Jamati, &
Hashemian, 2015; Gorgi, 2013). At each of these time periods, health researchers have published articles
calling for the end of sanctions and the exemption of health supplies and medicines from financial
embargos. But little has changed. This article proposes an approach for health services researchers in
mounting a response to sanctions: the use of health data, published as close to sanction implementation as
possible when health indicators start to decline, to document the impacts of sanctions on local
populations. This quantitative health research data can be used to effect change through international
law.
Key Findings
On November 20, 2018, the United States imposed unilateral sanctions on the Republic of Iran. The intention of these sanctions, which are being used in conjunction with other political pressures, is to impose financial hardship on Iran for its perceived support of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and terrorism. The consequences of these sanctions for the Iranian population will be manifold, with health likely to be one of the first sectors to suffer. There is no designated international body responsible for monitoring population health in the wake of sanctions; thus, health researchers have a pivotal role to play in the international community.How to Cite
Ruth Margaret Gibson (2018). The Role of Health Researchers in Documenting HealthSuffering and Crimes against Humanity Resulting from 2018US Sanctions against Iran. . https://doi.org/10.22158/rhs.v3n4p130