Sanctions always harm the common man in targeted nations

While in Europe last week, US President Joe Biden admitted sanctions “never deter” a leader from adopting a certain course of action before announcing fresh sanctions on more than 300 Russian legislators and dozens of state-owned companies which are said to be involved in Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

This being the case, why then carry on with the imposition of sanctions on countries and leaders, like Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who wage war on neighbours or repress dissent?

The sanctions so far imposed ban dual-use items, such as parts for equipment which have both military and civilian use; Russian commercial flights in US, British, European Union (EU) and Canadian airspace; luxury goods; and exports to the US of Russian oil and natural gas.

Western countries have blocked Russian Central Bank access to $630 billion in foreign currency reserves and Russian banks are being prevented from transferring money internationally. Some foreign firms are suspending operations in Russia while others cannot because of franchise agreements.

Russians can live comfortably without Coca-Cola, Starbucks and McDonalds which have pulled out while Moscow has retaliated by banning exports of 200 items until the end of this year and threatened to make importers of Russian oil and gas pay in the Russian currency. Russia has also halted payments to foreign investors and blocked the sale of state bonds held by foreigners.

While governments imposing sanctions argue that only ruling elites are targeted, sanctions always harm citizens of targeted countries. The harsh measures adopted by the US and Nato members are designed to cripple Russia’s economy and, as Putin argues, amount to “economic warfare.”

Russian families have already faced higher prices for essential goods, shortages, and a sharp plunge in the value of the country’s currency.

This is precisely what happens everywhere sanctions are imposed. Therefore, sanctions are illegal under international law as they constitute “collective punishment” of a group of people for actions of an individual or individuals.

Citizens of targeted countries suffer far more from sanctions than leaders whose actions precipitated the imposition of sanctions. The most egregious example is Iraq where sanctions were imposed in 1990 after President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and were not lifted until late 2003 after the US invasion and occupation.

Sanctions killed 500,000 Iraqi children who suffered from malnutrition and preventable and chronic disease between 1990-96, when sanctions were eased and Iraq was permitted to sell a limited amount of oil for food and medical supplies.

They are always supposed to be but never exempted from sanctions. It is estimated that over the 13-year period 1.5 million Iraqis died from sanctions from which the country’s economy still has not recovered.

Iranians and Syrians have also suffered grievously from sanctions while Palestinians living in Gaza have been besieged, blockaded and sanctioned by Israel since 2006-07. For some time Israel even limited food imports after nutritionists worked out how many calories per person per day would be needed to sustain life. UN pressure on Israel put an end to this practice.

The US-led campaign to pile sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine has already had serious negative impacts in the Eastern Arab World and North Africa and destructive ripple effects around the globe.

Soaring food prices due to the Ukraine war and disruption of Ukrainian and Russian grain exports to this region, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa have taken a toll and engendered fear among governments struggling to overcome poverty.

World Trade Organisation Chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warns there could be rioting by hungry people when they can no longer afford their daily bread and other staple foods. She urged food-exporting countries not to hoard supplies as the wealthy countries have hoarded vaccines and treatments during the COVID pandemic.

In an interview with the Guardian she pointed out that 35 African countries rely on wheat exports from Russia and Ukraine which provide 25 per cent of wheat consumed around the globe.

Supplies from Ukraine have halted. Kyiv has banned the export of grain due to the need to conserve supplies for domestic use while Russian forces have blockaded shipping from Black Sea ports.

In this region governments are scrambling to stockpile grain. The price of bread in Egypt, which imports 80 per cent of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine, has risen by 25 per cent. Yemen receives 27 per cent of its wheat from Ukraine and 8 per cent from Russia while Lebanon gets 60 per cent of its wheat from Ukraine. Jordan, which imports only 10 per cent of its grain from Ukraine, claims it has stocks for 15 months. Most of Syria’s wheat imports come from Russia.

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde told CNN last week that before the war the Eurozone was set to enter a robust period of growth after retrenchment caused by COVID but this has been disrupted by the conflict.

Wealthy Europe has also begun to feel negative impacts of the war and sanctions. Ukraine’s neighbours and even distant EU members have received nearly four million Ukrainian refugees. They are being provided with shelter, food, schooling for their children and the right to work in host countries.

While Poland is struggling to accommodate 1.5 million Ukrainians, little Cyprus, at the EU’s eastern edge has received 8-9,000 at a time the republic already has the largest number of migrants and asylum seekers per capital in the bloc.

EU countries which have depended on Russian exports of oil, natural gas, and coal are seeking to diversify supplies as fuel prices rise. They cannot halt oil imports before the end of this year and gas imports before the end of 2024.

The EU intends to diversify gas imports by securing supplies from the US, Qatar, Norway and Africa but member countries must also build infrastructure to accommodate changes. Europe also has to invest more in defence, taking away funds from education, health and welfare sectors serving the bloc’s citizens who will, ultimately, pay a price for EU involvement in the Ukraine war.

The longer this goes on, the higher the price for everyone. Unfortunately, Biden’s ill-judged and inflammatory declaration that the Russian president “cannot remain in power” could make negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv impossible for now and prolong the war.