Freemuslim Association’s Inclusion Forum calls on the international community to suspend economic sanctions on countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
With the outbreak of COVID-19, millions of people have fallen victim to the disease. Another challenge, no less dangerous than COVID-19, presented to the international community in the process of addressing this deadly epidemic are the continued economic sanctions that limit the ability of the affected countries to import the necessary equipment to treat the sick, including but not limited to North Korea, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Sudan, the Balkans, Belarus, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The current sanctions do not meet the goals and are inhibiting these countries from making future resolutions.
Those sanctions contribute significantly in obstructing international efforts to address the pandemic. In order to consolidate the joint cooperation between states and governments in facing this crisis, these sanctions require immediate review and a unified decision to suspend all international sanctions imposed until this global turmoil is over.
Freemuslim appeals to all governments and world powers to meet this requirement. COVID-19 is causing serious repercussions on all of mankind, and is taking a huge toll on countries that clearly suffer from a shortage of medical supplies necessary to cope with the pandemic. Additionally, if these countries do not have the supplies needed to treat COVID-19 it will continue to impact the rest of the world. This disease will continue to spread. It will take more lives. We will see widespread economic repercussions, and poverty will increase globally.
The organization notes that humankind faces an existential challenge unprecedented in modern history. The international community must join efforts to protect mankind against a disease that does not discriminate between race, gender, and nationality.
