TY - JOUR T1 - Economic sanctions on countries are indiscriminate weapons and should be banned JF - BMJ Paediatrics Open JO - BMJ Paediatrics Open DO - 10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001350 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - e001350 AU - Imti Choonara AU - Maurizio Bonati AU - Paul Jonas Y1 - 2021/12/01 UR - http://bmjpaedsopen.bmj.com/content/5/1/e001350.abstract N2 - Economic sanctions are usually applied by governments or the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to individuals, companies or countries.1 Such sanctions may be appropriate when applied to individuals or companies. Economic sanctions on countries, however, cannot be justified in any circumstances. There is overwhelming evidence of the adverse effects of economic sanctions on both the health and nutrition of the civilian population.2 It is usually the most disadvantaged sections of society, who experience the greatest harm.Economic sanctions are the modern equivalent of a siege. Sieges have usually been applied to cities, for example, Sarajevo and Aleppo, whereas economic sanctions are applied to countries. The effects of both sieges and sanctions are similar: depriving civilians of access to basic services as well as food and medicines. The UNSC has unanimously adopted resolutions demanding the lifting of sieges3 and stating that the use of such sieges against civilian populations in Syria were illegal under international humanitarian law.4 The devastating impact of sieges on health, medical services and access to food and other basic services have been highlighted by researchers.5 6 It is unfortunate that the global superpowers that dominate the UNSC recognise the indiscriminate impact of sieges on civilians, but not economic sanctions.Economists have studied the effect of economic sanctions on 98 countries over a period of 35 years.2 Their results suggest that UN sanctions reduce life expectancy by 1.2–1.4 years and that sanctions by the USA reduce life expectancy by 0.4–0.5 years.2 Their work suggests that … ER -