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Violating the basic rights of human beings is unlawful under any pretext, said Mehdi Hojjati, adding that the US government is accountable for the unilateral sanctions that are overt violation of human rights, including the right to life, right to medical treatment, and health.
Hojjati noted that one of the consequences of blocking Iranian banking system from having access to international banking system is indirect deprivation of Iranian people of having access to medicine and medical equipment.
The international community should respond to these sanctions to stop them, he said.
"Human Rights" should not just be seen in international documents, mottos, and statements; they need to have factual manifestation and be seen in practice, he said.
The Iranian lawyer added that not only do the US sanctions violate the international law, but, they have also changed into a tool to be used to violate the rights of the Iranian citizens, which is against the philosophy of sanctions.
He said that “medical and medicinal terrorism” is an appropriate term for the US move; these sanctions, alongside “economic terrorism”, have targeted Iran’s economic and financial infrastructure.
It may be claimed that the US has not imposed such sanctions, but in practice, the Iranians’ access to medical supplies and medicinal equipment have been seriously endangered.
Addressing Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on September 24, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif termed unilateral coercive measures taken with regard to fighting coronavirus pandemic as economic and medical terrorism.
"We need to jointly confront the destructive impact of unilateral coercive measures on efforts to combat the pandemic," Zarif said.
"They are nothing but economic and medical terrorism, and we must refuse to comply with these unlawful measures in our collective endeavor to tackle this common affliction of humanity," he added.
“As CICA members, we should strive to strengthen cooperation within the framework of our organization—in coordination with the UN and WHO—to ensure full, free and fair access to health services, medicine, and medical equipment for our peoples. We must also act to ensure that no one can arbitrarily challenge professional international organizations.”
Translated by: Hossein Abolqassemi
Edited by: Safar Sarabi
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