In the 1990s, UN sanctions imposed on Iraq led to a humanitarian crisis, with reports of a rapid increase in excess mortality, especially among children. In the early 2000s, policymakers responded to this crisis by vowing to use “smart sanctions” in the future, measures that would target elites while sparing civilians, thereby limiting the humanitarian harms of economic coercion. The perception that today’s sanctions are “smart” has contributed to the rapid increase in their use over the last two decades.

But a new paper, titled “Effects of International Sanctions on Age-Specific Mortality: A Cross-National Panel Data Analysis” and published in the prestigious journal The Lancet Global Health suggests that even today, sanctions continue to have devastating humanitarian impacts. Drawing on data from 152 countries over fifty years, the paper estimates that unilateral sanctions—particularly those imposed by the United States—are associated with over half a million excess deaths each year. The paper’s findings demand a fundamental reassessment of the humanitarian impacts of today’s sanctions regimes.

Francisco Rodríguez is the Rice Family Professor of the Practice at the Josef Korbel School at the University of Denver. Francisco is one of the co-authors of the paper, along with Silvio Rendón, and Mark Weisbrot.

The Sanctions Age is hosted by Esfandyar Batmanghelidj. The show is produced by Spiritland Productions.

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