The Illegality and Intent of Unilateral Economic Sanctions . References 22. The National Assembly is the preeminent and credible democratic institution that the citizens can rely on. Ippei is a recent graduate with a Master of International Relations from the University of Queensland. Economic Sanctions Kill - CounterPunch.org If U.S. federal courts were not so afraid to hold the executive branch accountable on matters of foreign policy, this could be challenged and very likely dismissed by a federal court even more quickly and easily than the similar case of a "national emergency" on the Mexican border, which is at least geographically connected to the United States. crisis and made it nearly impossible to stabilise the economy, contributing Santos begins with a graph from our paper that shows both Venezuelan and Colombian oil production on the left and right-hand axes, respectively, in thousands of barrels per day, from 2013 to 2018. The Contrary to the objective of the US economic sanctions, the Maduro regime has already found a way to mitigate the economic punishment imposed by the US by an aligning with their rival power, China. This will greatly accelerate the humanitarian crisis, but the projected 67 percent decline in oil production for the year, if the sanctions continue, would cause vastly more loss of human life, the report warned. A new study reveals that Trump's animosity towards Venezuela has causedgrave harm to most vulnerable Venezuelan social groups. These sanctions aim to weaken the economic capacity of the Maduro regime and allow democratic institutions to reassert themselves. Miguel Angel Santo's response to Figure 1 from Weisbrot and Sachs, with the relevant graph. Economists Mark Weisbrot and Jeffrey Sachs calculate that the U.S. sanctions have resulted in the death of 40,000 Venezuelan civilians between 2017 and 2018. Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). PRESIDENT Donald Trump's economic sanctions against Venezuela are [Online], Available at: https://en.elpitazo.net/english/almost-80-of-venezuelans-live-in-extreme-poverty/, Jraissati, Jorge and Wolf von Laer, 2021. These proposed sanctions Start Printed Page 35648 mirror the sanctions in 240.119 and 242.115. "These numbers," they write, "by themselves virtually guarantee that the current sanctions, which are much more severe than those implemented before this year, are a death sentence for tens of thousands of Venezuelans." We concluded that US economic sanctions since August 2017 have likely caused a dire rise in mortality and a grave aggravation of Venezuelas economic crisis. Weisbrot and Sachs say that these sanctions "would fit the definition of collective punishment," as laid out in the Hague Convention (1899) and in the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949). Even more stringent sanctions imposed in 2018 banned most of the country's exports, reducing the government's ability to pay for imported food to alleviate the shortages. Progressive values. The sanctions are putting Venezuelan lives on the line in massive numbers, and risking the lifelong health and development of Venezuelas children. which can be clearly seen when a correlation is drawn between oil A study by Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, titled "Sanctions as Collective Punishment: the Case of Venezuela," reported that the combined effect of the 2017 and 2019 U.S. sanctions are projected to lead to an astounding 37.4% decline in Venezuela's real GDP in 2019, on the heels of a 16.7% decline. 'The He is the co-author, with Medea Benjamin, of War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict, available from OR Books in November 2022, and the author of Blood On Our Hands: the American Invasion and Destruction of Iraq. A While the Biden administration has emphasised free and fair elections in the hope of supporting democracy as opposed to regime change, the US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration continue unchanged (Schatzker, Laya and Vasquez, 2021). They are also illegal under international law and treaties which the US has signed, and would appear to violate US law as well. article is reproduced from the teleSUR English website (www.telesurenglish.net). Pedro Rances Mattey / picture alliance via Getty Images A recent report titled 'Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela', written by Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, revealed that 40,000 people may have died in the Latin American nation in the last two years as a consequence of US sanctions. Relatedly, we find rapidly worsening trends across all of the socio-economic indicators we analyze well before the sanctions were imposed in August 2017. This act allowed Obama to sanction individuals in the Venezuelan government. 'It's a fruitless, heartless, illegal and failed policy, No matter what socio-economic indicator one chooses to look at, it is clear that the sharp deterioration in Venezuelas living standards started long before August 2017. We think that the answer is probably a combination of "all of the above." But, the next year, Bachelet told the UN Security Council that "although this pervasive and devastating economic and social crisis began before the imposition of the first economic sanctions in 2017, I am concerned that the recent sanctions on financial transfers related to the sale of Venezuelan oil within the United States may contribute to aggravating the economic crisis, with possible repercussions on people's basic rights and wellbeing." sanctions. clearly not a 'natural fact' but rather a consequence of the current When U.S. But Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolution simply did not have the time. Santos responds with a graph that shows the two countries production (only since 2016) on just one axis and an accusation. But economic sanctions work very differently. loss of oil-based incomes has prevented the Venezuelan government A study by Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, titled "Sanctions as Collective Punishment: the Case of Venezuela," reported that the combined effect of the 2017 and 2019 U.S. sanctions are projected to lead to an astounding 37.4% decline in Venezuela's real GDP in 2019, on the heels of a 16.7% decline in 2018 and the over 60% drop in oil prices between 2012 and 2016. De Zayas's report recommended that the International Criminal Court should investigate U.S. sanctions against Venezuela as a crime against humanity. Its oil revenues account for 98 percent of its export earnings. 'Since About the Author. Interestingly, Santos and Hausmann do not comment on the serious damage caused by the sanctions since January of this year, which was a major part of our paper. By the one-year anniversary, the U.S. Treasury Department . Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela * Mark Weisbrot is Co-Director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). All of these impacts disproportionately This prevented the government from restructuring its foreign debt, because any debt, restructuring requires the issuance of new bonds in exchange for the existing debt. Since the ruling period of Chavez, Beijing has had strong ties with the current socialist party in Caracas. They also act as a cautionary tale to powerful countries like the US who may desire regime change, with the success of democracy in the aftermath of the Arab Spring being limited and thwart with political and social instability. The June 2008 price was $163.52; by January 2009, it had collapsed to $50.43. It is a very formidable obstacle for Cubas international economic relations, especially when there are pressing needs today of transportation, fuel, electricity generation, and materials for the pharmaceutical industry, which all have a strong humanitarian impact on the whole human population.. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Opinion | The Ongoing Calamity: US Collective Punishment of the Democracy in Venezuela has in recent years come under siege. Both are fairly constant on average (with Colombian production much more volatile) until January of 2016; they then decline at about the same rate until August of 2017, when President Trump issued an executive order imposing broad financial sanctions on Venezuela. All rights reserved. 'Venezuela's Two companies--one based in Liberia and the other in Greece--have already been slapped with penalties for shipping Venezuelan oil to Cuba. That turned out not to be the case at all. Nowadays, China has been increasing its influence by investing billions of dollars in Latin America. But economic sanctions work very differently. helpful comments; Jake Johnston, Kevin Cashman, Joe Sammut, Colin Brineman, and Cavan. Nicolas J. S. Davies is an independent journalist and a researcher with CODEPINK. For example, as of 1994, more than half a million Iraqi children had died under UN Security Council sanctions 3 The further deterioration observed since 2017whether caused by the sanctions or by alternative factorsby no means constitutes the bulk of the collapse that has caused widespread suffering, death, and displacement to millions of Venezuelans. An . The U.S. Treasury Department froze $7 billion in PDVSA assets, and it did not allow U.S. firms to export naphtha into Venezuela (a crucial input for the extraction of heavy crude oil). economic crisis is routinely blamed all on Venezuela. In terms of U.S. law, both the 2017 and 2019 sanctions on Venezuela are based on unsubstantiated presidential declarations that the situation in Venezuela has created a so-called "national emergency" in the United States. The West and the Majority World - Repression Versus Openn Russian Intel: West 'Tearing Apart' Venezuela Like Syria, Libya, Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela. probably somewhere between 758 percent and 1,350 percent at an annual rate. Please donate now to keep the mission and independent journalism of Common Dreams strong. By Francisco R. Rodrguez and Mark Weisbrot / Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Venezuela has imported food goods worth only $2.46 billion in 2018 compared to $11.2 billion in 2013. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela on The Human Consequences of Economic Sanctions: Event Summary, The Post Office Can Bring People-Centered Public Banking to Every ZIP Code, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), The Human Consequences of Economic Sanctions, The harm that sanctions do to the vulnerable, Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela, US sanctions and the theatre of humanitarian concern, Patrick Lawrence: The War We're Finally Allowed to See, Chris Hedges: The Democratic Party's Crucifixion of Matt Taibbi, Ellen Brown: Another Look at the Financial Transactions Tax, British Police Detain Journalist Kit Klarenberg, Interrogate Him About The Grayzone, Report: FBI Reopens Assange Investigation, Fascists' Convictions Not a Cause for Celebration, Patrick Lawrence: Deaf, but Not Blind to US Decline, In American Prisons, You're Nothing More Than a Number. Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. The Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuelastudy was also written by Jeffrey Sachs, a world-renowned economist who teaches at Columbia University and was a director of theHarvard Institute for International Developmentat theKennedy School of Government. In the 2000s, when oil prices remained high, the revenues were used to enhance the social lives of the landless workers, most of whom suffered high rates of malnutrition and illiteracy. Ippeis areas of interests include humanitarian issues such as refugee protection and access to education in underdeveloped countries. Social media. Since the use of military force, coups and covert operations to overthrow foreign governments have proven catastrophic in Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti, Somalia, Honduras, Libya, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen, the idea of using the dominant position of the U.S. and the dollar in international financial markets as a form of "soft power" to achieve "regime change" may strike U.S. policymakers as an easier form of coercion to sell to a war-weary U.S. public and uneasy allies. A report by Weisbrot and Sachs indicates that the sanctions have contributed to not only destabilizing the economy, but also have made it harder for citizens to reach basic goods such as food and medical supplies due to the reduction in imports (Weisbrot & Sachs, 2019). who have not had antiretroviral treatment since 2017; 16,000 people PDF Revisiting the evidence - Brookings World Resurgence No. US Nevertheless, by prohibiting international transactions with the Bolivarian government, the United States has "efficiently" affected Venezuela's oil production, which can be clearly seen when a correlation is drawn between oil production levels and the dates when the sanctions went into effect. Obama sanctioned seven individuals, while Trump has--thus far--sanctioned 75 individuals. On May 19, 2023, the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) brought together leading experts in the study of economic sanctions to help to answer a critical, but often-ignored, question: What are the human consequences of US economic sanctions? On the eve of renewed sanctions by Washington, an Iranian protester holds a burning picture of President Donald Trump outside the former US embassy in the Iranian capital Tehran on November 4, 2018. Congress The U.S. slaps third-country businesses with penalties for "violating" U.S. sanctions. This paper looks at some of the most important impacts of the economic sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the US government since August of 2017. To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page. who teaches at Columbia University and was a director of the Harvard T ruthout. The plot to kill Venezuela | Salon.com [Online], Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=26247&LangID=E. Twenty years ago, as economic sanctions slashed Iraq's GDP by 48% over 5 years and serious studies documented their genocidal human cost, they still failed to remove the government of Saddam Hussein from power. It adds that it "prohibits not only armed force but also any other form of interference or attempted threat against the personality of the State or against its political, economic, and cultural elements. In our paper, Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela, we looked at some of the ways in which the sanctions on Venezuela imposed by the US government curtail access to essential and life-saving imports, and some of the data on impacts such as mortality. Sanctions on Venezuela Aren't Promoting Democracy, They - Truthout It was extended in 2016 and will expire--unless extended again--at the end of 2019. A mural of former Venezuela President Hugo Chavez (1954-2013). Denis Halliday was a UN Assistant Secretary General who served as Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq and resigned from the UN in protest at the brutal sanctions on Iraq in 1998. the United States has 'efficiently' affected Venezuela's oil production, Yet, no one has stood up against the grave breach of the convention in terms of collective punishment. It was clear that the protests were intended as a provocation, drawing a crackdown from the government forces, which allowed U.S. President Barack Obama to sign the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014. US sanctions killed over 40,000 Venezuelans since 2017 By transferring oil to Malaysia from Venezuela and disguising the origin of oil, Chinese companies have imported Venezuelan oil without being detected by the US (Kassai 2021). Progressive values. The sanctions reduced the publics caloric intake, increased disease and mortality (f, infants), and displaced millions of Venezuelans who fled the country as a result of the worsening, economic depression and hyperinflation. Thus, the US economic sanctions will likely not achieve its objectives of establishing democracy and preserving human rights. professor said. the absolute prohibition for individuals, companies or entities to purchase Venezuelan bonds of any kind, any debt owed by the Venezuelan government, the sale, transfer, assignment, or pledging as collateral by the government or government agency (including the Central Bank and the state oil company, PDVSA) of Venezuela of any equity interest (U. Doctored and Rebranded Oil Blacklisted by U.S. Regarding Venezuela, Reuters reported that in March 2019 the State Department had "instructed oil trading houses and refiners around the world to further cut dealings with Venezuela or face sanctions themselves, even if the trades made are not prohibited by published U.S. equipment, food and other essential imports,' said Mark Weisbrot, Made by Maduro: The Humanitarian Crisis in Venezuela and US Policy Responses Weisbrot, Mark and Jeffrey Sachs, 2019. Second, several important confounding factors beyond sanctions, which any rigorous empirical exercise should account for, could also explain the deterioration studied by Weisbrot and Sachs (2019). There are 4 million people with diabetes and hypertension, most of whom cannot access insulin or cardiovascular medicine. Thursday, February 28, 2019 Our other, perhaps even more important finding is that, when analyzing several socio-economic outcomes in Venezuela across time, it becomes clear that the bulk of the deterioration in living standards occurred long before the sanctions were enacted in 2017. Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela "If they are deliberately extended when their deadly consequences are known, sanctions can be deemed genocide. ", "Leaders contemplating ultimate resort to force often expect that imposing sanctions first will enhance the credibility of subsequent military threats. mortality (for both adults and infants), and displaced millions of It finds that most of the impact of these san, 100% found this document useful, Mark this document as useful, 0% found this document not useful, Mark this document as not useful, Save Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The C For Later. Your email has been successfully registered. more than that. The government's oil company--PDVSA--had provided the revenues to fund the social missions, the programs to lift the low standard of social life for the landless workers. The Human Consequences of Economic Sanctions: Event Summary In a paper titled "Economic sanctions as collective punishment: The case of Venezuela" (Weisbrot and Sachs, 2019), the authorshenceforth referred to as WSset out to assess the causal effects of. However, the claim that we are now in the era of smart sanctions had a crucial consequence. The US economic sanctions include the prohibition of the Venezuelan government from accessing US financial services, the closure of bank accounts of Venezuelans high ranked officials and the prevention of US companies dealing with Venezuelas oil sector. Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution was in peril. This is because Chinas GDP is much larger than Indias, so the slope of the graph for China is steeper when they are presented on the same scale. The U.S. government prevented Venezuelan government bonds from trading in U.S. financial markets, and then it prevented the state's energy company--PDVSA--from receiving payments for its export of petroleum products. If oil revenues drop by 67 percent in 2019--as has been projected--the death of tens of thousands of Venezuelans is guaranteed. In a paper titled Economic sanctions as collective punishment: The case of Venezuela (Weisbrot and Sachs, 2019), the authorshenceforth referred to as WSset out to assess the causal effects of the financial sanctions imposed by the United States on Venezuela in August 2017. While the mystery of who is responsible for sabotaging the two tankers in the Gulf of Oman remains unsolved, it is clear that the Trump administration has been sabotaging Iranian oil shipments since May 2, when it announced its intention to "bring Iran's oil exports to zero, denying the regime its principal source of revenue." Assessing a wide range of evidence, the findings of our panelists were unanimous:economic sanctions, even when touted as targeted, often have widespread deleterious effects on entire national economies, and therefore severely harm millions of everyday people. There is not a whiff of interest in the UN Secretary General's office to open a tribunal on the accusations of collective punishment against Venezuela. As noted above, these have also had an immediate impact and are much more severe. Opinion | U.S. Sanctions: Economic Sabotage That Is Deadly, Illegal Khanna, Parag 2019. Venezuelans who fled the country as a result of the worsening economic In North Korea, many decades of sanctions, coupled with extended periods of drought, have left millions of the nation's 25 million people malnourished and impoverished. It finds that most of the impact of these sanctions has not been on the government but on the civilian population. Sign In or Register to leave a comment, use the forums and more, I have already subscribed | Do not show this message again. There are now 54 countries that's 27% of all countries that are subject to either UN, EU, or US trade sanctions. to see it in Venezuela, too. Given the intentional action to destroy a people, in part or in whole, the US economic sanctions and their effect on the preventable mortality of Venezuelans fit the UN definition of genocide. January 9, 2018 Are US sanctions legal? The Trump administration is also committing a massive oil heist by seizing $7 billion in Venezuela's oil assets--keeping the Maduro government from getting access to its own money. Despite these sanctions, the Maduro regime continues to procure income resources via their non-Western trading partners. Dany Bahar, Ted Piccone, and Harold Trinkunas Moreover, the US sanctions are putting more pressure on the people of Venezuela, reducing their capacity to mobilize and protest en masse. He found significant impacts due to Venezuela's long-term dependence on oil, poor governance and corruption, but he also strongly condemned U.S. sanctions and "economic warfare.". We concluded that the sanctions imposed since January will be much more devastating in terms of increased hunger and mortality, and of economic losses, than have the prior US executive orders and other economic sanctions. A study by Jeffrey Sachs and Mark Weisbrot for the Center for Economic and Policy Research, titled "Sanctions as Collective Punishment: the Case of Venezuela," reported that the. Venezuela's economy and thereby lead to regime change,' the Columbia He is the Director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research and Chief Editor of LeftWord Books. Marcela Escobari Cuba still, today, by virtue of its presence on that list, runs into commercial or financial organizations that refuse to interact with Cuban companies out of fear of reprisals from the United States. Although food and medicines are technically exempt from sanctions, U.S. sanctions against Iranian banks like Parsian Bank, Iran's largest non-state-owned bank, make it nearly impossible to process payments for imported goods, and that includes food and medicine. Venezuela "Twenty-first century sanctions attempt to bring not just a town, but sovereign countries to their knees." Economic Sanctions as Collective Punishment: The Case of Venezuela Do not sell or share my personal information, Executive Summary . 1, Introduction .. 6, Sanctions in 2019 10. He condemned "coercion" by outside powers as a "violation of all norms of international law." 337/338, January/February 2019, p 25. Oil revenues then allowed Chavez to build up pillars of support for the revolution. As such, they act as a cautionary tale to many governments, including Venezuela, about the power and danger of civil movements. In April the IMF changed its October forecast for 2019 of a 5 percent decline in GDP to 25 percent; this also was obviously a result of the January sanctions. from not only improving the country's balance of payments but also Cookie Notice The Venezuela Pharmaceutical Association reported an 85% shortage of essential medicines in 2018.
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