Sanctions: A People's Death Sentence

How sanctions destroy peoples lives while avoiding the rich and powerful.

If there is something the United States loves more than bombing innocent civilians overseas and bringing them "democracy" via the tip of a barrel, it is crippling sanctions levied against nations it considers a threat.  Sanctions are a common tool in the United States playbook and are often applied to certain nations while ignoring others, ie. sanctions against Iran for enriching uranium, while not applying sanctions against Saudi Arabia for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.  

Sanctions are often said to be a way to avoid boots on the ground, civilian casualties, and traditional warfare.  The issue is that sanctions are just as detrimental as traditional warfare and potentially hurt civilians more than a military operation would.  While sanctions are said to target the government of a nation and its leaders, the effects of the sanctions are almost always placed upon the shoulders of the people of a nation.  

Sanctions, whether they be against the import of fuel oils or economic or one of the many other types will always impact the general population more than the rich and powerful of a nation.  For example, there is a multitude of sanctions against North Korea, sanctions which affect the general population's ability to access food, water, and other general needs.  Despite these sanctions, Kim Jong-un was still able to acquire Mercedes-Benz-built cars for official travel.  

I'd argue that sanctions are a death sentence for the people of a nation, as proven by the crippling sanctions against Venezuela which left an estimated 40,000 people dead.  I'd also argue that sanctions are a war crime as equal to murdering civilians via drone strikes. 

In the year 2022, it is time for not only the United States but also every other UN nation to recognize that sanctions are evil and do more harm than good.  In recognizing that fact, the UN and its member nations should ban sanctions, hold any nation using them responsible for their crimes and begin to fix the harm caused by them.  

It is also time that the United States lift the hundreds of sanctions it has placed on nations around the globe, and begin to work towards reconciling the harm they caused.  Our sanctions are used to bully nations into adopting a U.S. form of government and also to make headway for corporations to exploit a nation's labor and environment.  If we are to live in a world free of capitalism, exploitation, and suffering, lifting sanctions is among the first actions that need to be taken in the path towards that goal.