• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has said in its reports about negative impact of unilateral sanctions on human rights.
• Human Rights Watch Sanctions reports that healthcare sector of Iran has been negatively impacted by US sanctions.
• It has impacted Iranians’ right to health and access to medicines and medical care.
• Economic sanctions can destroy a country’s central institutions, firms, lives and livelihoods.

Sanctions and its effects

Sanctions

• Imposition of sanctions is a first response to force alleged wrongdoer to change their behaviour. 
• Some Sanctions are trade sanctions like barrier of financial and investment flows between sender and receiver countries, blockades, reprisals, embargoes and starvation of enemy’s population, etc.
• Examples:
• US sanctioned countries are – Russia, North Korea, Cuba, Syria, Iran.
• Human rights situation in Xinjiang and Myanmar;
• Sanctions on Iran and North Korea due to their nuclear programmes
• Earlier, Sanctions were used during armed conflict and were regulated by international legal instruments.
• United States’ law Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act, 2017 (CAATSA) places economic sanctions on third countries if they enter into significant transactions with some countries.
• Target countries are Iran, North Korea and Russia.

Effects

• Economic sanctions promote sufferings of civilians particularly marginalised sections.
• It deprives them their means of subsistence and livelihood.
• Advanced economic countries force weak economic countries to stop trade with target countries.
• It badly influences independent foreign and trade policies of that country.
• It attacks sovereignty of a nation which is key norm of international law.
• Economic sanctions are disincentives for foreign investors, international organisations and foreign companies.
• It prohibits them trade and commerce with target countries due to threat of secondary sanctions which can target them too.

Cases under which economic sanctions are allowed and its borderline

• When target country breaches its obligations under international law and commits internationally wrongful act.
• ​​​​​​​Measures must only aim at cessation of wrongful act.
• Measures shall not be punitive.
• Measures must be proportionate and should be terminated once the wrongful act ceases.
• Measures shall not affect protection of fundamental human rights.
• Measures must not violate norms of international law.

International laws on economic sanctions

• International norms that allow transit of basic necessities like food and medicines during armed conflict have achieved universal ratification.
• Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter allows imposition of sanctions.
• These sanctions are in form of collective action taken under the United Nations Security Council to force a country to put an end to its actions which threaten or breach international peace and security. 
• UN Charter does not recognise unilateral measures by any member state except the right to self-defence as interim measure.
• Article 2(4) of the UN Charter sanctions promotes general principle of non-intervention in other country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence.
• Under Article 2(4), there is no general prohibition on coercive economic sanctions under international law.
• Sanctions do violate international law and attract international responsibility. 
• International Court of Justice (ICJ) has jurisdiction over the economic sanctions imposed under domestic legislations.
• They are not immune to judicial review of ICJ.

Economic sanctions violate international laws

• Article 2(3) of the UN Charter imposes obligation upon members to resolve their disputes peacefully.
• Sanctions are not peaceful settlement of disputes.
• Economic sanctions violate Article 2(7) of the UN Charter.
•  Article 2(7) prohibits non-intervention in internal affairs of a country.
• It violates human rights agreement under International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
• Article 1 of both states that -in no case a person should be deprived of its own means of subsistence.
• Economic sanctions are inconsistent with WTO (World Trade Organisation) laws.

Sanctions on some countries were wrong under international laws

• Iran and North Korea have not committed any wrong act.
• International Court of Justice in its nuclear weapons Advisory Opinion stated that proliferation of nuclear weapons and its use is not unlawful.
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty allows withdrawal under Article X on grounds of “protection of supreme interests of a country”.
• Sanctions imposed by US on Iran to counter its nuclear programme did not gave positive outcome.
• Cuba was wrongfully sanctioned due to its dictatorship regime.
• Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 states that purpose of sanctions on Cuba is to force them towards democratisation.
• International law cannot impose legal obligation on a country to follow a specific model of governance.
• UNGA resolution of 2018 condemned US sanctions on Cuba based on the premises that unilateral sanctions violates international obligations under UN Charter.

Sanctions can become weapons of mass destruction and ignoring it can shake the foundation of a country. A proper checks and balances in form of judicial scrutiny is desirable.