ODVV’s Correspondence with UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health: Undermining the People of Iran’s Right to Health as a Result of United States Unilateral Sanctions and Restricted Access to Medicines and Treatment
Right to health is one of the most important examples of human rights. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.” This right also in its most comprehensive concept has been noted in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and highlights the creation of suitable conditions for the provision of medical services and assistance for all in the event of sickness.
Following the re-imposition of unilateral sanctions by the United States and as part of its international links, sending a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, while pointing out the undermining of the people of Iran’s right to health, the ODVV wrote: “the United States has stated that medicines and food items are not included in the list of items under US sanctions, but the fact is that unilateral sanctions have created restrictions of access of citizens to food items, medical equipment, medicines, even during natural disasters, like the recent floods in Iran.”