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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Zyde Raad, MS Candidate, Department of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 00000, Boston, MA 02120, 000-000-0000, zraad@hsph.harvard.edu

The use of economic sanctions by nation states and international organizations results in widespread human rights violations and disastrous health outcomes. Sanctions restrict food distribution, medical care, and access to basic sanitation, disproportionately impacting the health of susceptible sub-populations. These increasingly well-documented consequences can be mitigated using a comprehensive rights-based approach to reform sanction design, monitoring, and assessment strategies. Emphasizing non-discrimination and transparency in the design of humanitarian exemptions can improve the health of the civilian population. Given the interrelatedness of human rights, correlations between rights violations, social conditions, and health outcomes should be addressed when assessing the impact of sanctions. Vulnerability shifts that often occur during sanctions require new indicators that anticipate changes by monitoring education, social welfare, and sanitation, in addition to health status. Sanctioning parties and aid organizations should also promote both individual and administrative participation within the targeted state. National ministries and local groups can provide valuable contributions to monitoring and assessment efforts, particularly in terms of baseline health data and infrastructure analysis. Legal and humanitarian responsibilities for the protection of human rights call for a systematic integration of these principles into the work of sanctioning parties, targeted states, and independent organizations. Examples drawn from Iraq, Haiti, and Cuba will be used to demonstrate how rights-based sanctions reform can protect the dignity and health of affected individuals.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the complex ways in which sanctions violate human rights and exacerbate social inequalities.
• Identify the major components of a rights-based approach to sanctions reform.
• Understand how human rights principles can be programmatically incorporated to protect the health and well-being of vulnerable populations.

Keywords: Human Rights, Sanctions

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

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