A diverse group of academics, researchers and NGO leaders have signed the following open letter addressed to the leaders of the P4+1 countries (United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, and Russia) and US lawmakers.
Several distinguished academics including Prof. Noam Chomsky have signed this letter.
The letter was drafted and coordinated by the Institute for Peace & Diplomacy.
For academics/researchers/NGO leaders: If you’d like to add your name to this letter, please click on the following link before March 31, 2020.
OPEN LETTER: END IRAN SANCTIONS
This week, confirmed infections of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 surpassed 586,000 worldwide and global deaths rose past 26,800 as the outbreak continues to spread across the Middle East, Europe, and North America. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), worldwide deaths have tripled while global cases have more than doubled in the past week.
Iran is among the hardest-hit countries by the pandemic, with over 2,300 deaths and 32,000 cases of infections from the COVID-19. It is also the only country that is dealing with this level of cases while living under severe economic sanctions.
In 2018, the Trump administration imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran and implemented a policy of maximum pressure after withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.
While on paper the US administration has provided humanitarian exemptions in its sanctions regime, reports from Iranian civil society, international aid organizations, and human rights groups including Human Rights Watch, show a different reality on the ground as US sanctions, including banking restrictions, have severely impacted Iranians’ access to medical equipment and essential medicine.
In recent weeks, the United Kingdom, Russia, China, and Pakistan have asked the U.S to ease sanctions on Iran during this unprecedented global pandemic. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has ignored these requests and instead have imposed even more sanctions on the country.
We believe that it is not only unjust to leave Iranian people alone in this global crisis, but is indeed a violation of Iranians’ inalienable rights to health and access to medical care. Furthermore, we believe that this pandemic is a shared global threat and it could only be defeated when all countries and people come together and support one another.
Therefore, we, the undersigned, call on all members of the United Nations Security Council to act in compliance with international law and UNSC resolution 2231 and to support Iranian people in their fight against this global pandemic.
We also urge the US lawmakers to pressure the Trump administration to immediately lift all sanctions that are impeding Iran’s response to the outbreak, including financial sanctions.
403 Signatures as of 3pm March 28, 2020
List of initial signatures* (in alphabetical order based on first name):
| Abbas Edalat | Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics. Founder, Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran |
| Adi Burton | Doctoral Candidate, University of British Columbia |
| Ali Gholizadeh | Public Policy researcher, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) |
| Ali Naghieh | Dr./ Fellow, University College London |
| Alireza Doostdar | Assistant Professor, University of Chicago |
| Alison Happel-Parkins | Associate Professor, University of Memphis |
| Andreas Otto | Dr./Board Member EUIRANC – European Iranian Council |
| Arshin Adib-Moghaddam | Professor in Global Thought, SOAS, University of London |
| Assal Rad | Research Fellow, National Iranian American Council |
| Azadeh N Shahshahani | Legal & Advocacy Director, Project South; past president, National Lawyers Guild |
| Barbara Slavin | American journalist and foreign policy expert |
| Bijan Ahmadi | Executive Director, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy |
| Dani Magsumbol | Doctoral student in Politics, York University |
| Farhang Jahanpour | Retired professor and retired editor for Middle East and North Africa, BBC Monitoring |
| Farideh Farhi | Independent Scholar |
| Fayyaz Baqir | Visting professor, School of International Development and Global Studies, University of Ottawa |
| Hamid Dabashi | Professor, Columbia University |
| Hassan Allami | Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Ottawa |
| Hassan Ansari | Long-Term Member- Institute for Advanced Study. Princeton |
| Hasan Hafidh | Dr./ Senior Teaching Fellow, SOAS |
| Hossein Kamaly | Associate Professor, Hartford |
| Jaleh Mansoor | Associate Professor, University of British Columbia |
| Jamal Abdi | President, National Iranian American Council |
| Javad Shamsi | PhD student in Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science |
| John Packer | Professor, University of Ottawa |
| John Philpot | American Association of Jurists |
| Jon Rainwater | Executive Director , Peace Action |
| Kevin McDonough | Associate Professor, McGill University |
| Khodadad Rezakhani | Research Scholar, Princeton University |
| Lisa Weems | Professor, Miami University of Ohio |
| Mahdi Nikbakht Fini | Research Assistant, Aalborg University |
| Mahsa Rouhi | Research Fellow, IISS |
| Manjeet Ramgotra | Lecturer in Political Theory, SOAS University of London |
| Maryam Nabavi | Strategist, Equity & Inclusion, University of British Columbia |
| Maysam Behravesh | PhD candidate in political science, Lund University |
| Megan Altman | Professor, Cornell College |
| Mohammad Borghei | Strayer University(retired professor) social and political activist |
| Mohammad Keyhani | Associate Professor, University of Calgary |
| Mohsen Khaniki | Board Member, Iranian Canadian Congress |
| Morteza Hashemi | University of Edinburgh |
| Muhammad Sahimi | Professor, University of Southern California |
| Nader Hashemi | Director of Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver |
| Nassim Noroozi | Visiting Lecturer, Concordia University |
| Neda Mohammadi | Imperial College London |
| Noam Chomsky | Institute Professor (emeritus), MIT. Laureate Professor, U. of Arizona |
| Omid Milani, Ph.D. | Professor, University of Ottawa |
| Parham Pashaei | PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia |
| Peyman Jafari | Dr./ Princeton University/University of Amsterdam |
| Reem Abou-El-Fadl | Senior Lecturer, SOAS University of London |
| Rojeh Jahani | Vancouver Peace Council |
| Rose Wellman | Assistant Professor, University of Michigan-Dearborn |
| S. J. Adrienna Joyce | PhD candidate, McGill University |
| Sahar Maranlou | Dr./ Lecturer in Law. University of Essex |
| Saideh Khadir | Family physician and peace advocate |
| Sam Salehi Samiee | Painting Department, ArtEZ University of Arts and Design |
| Samuel D. Rocha | Associate Professor, University of British Columbia |
| Sara Behforootan | Research Associate, Imperial College London |
| Saranaz Barforoush, Ph.D. | Assistant Professor Teaching, University of British Columbia |
| Sepideh Jodeyri | Member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) |
| Setareh Shohadaei | PhD Candidate, Department of Politics, The New School |
| Shadi Mokhtari | Assistant Professor, American University |
| Shirin Saeidi | Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Arkansas |
| Sina Toossi | Senior Research Analyst, National Iranian American Council |
| Soroosh Shahriari | PhD Candidate, McGill University |
| Soudeh Ghasemi | President of the Iranian Canadian Congress |
| Sylvat Aziz | Associate professor, Queen’s university |
| Taha Ahmadi Vostakolaei | PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia |
| Thomas Woodley | President, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East |
| Trita Parsi | Adjunct Associate Professor, Georgetown University |
| Yaser Mirdamadi | Dr./ Researcher in Muslim biomedical ethics, the Institute of Isma’ili Studies, London |
| Younes Zangiabadi | Vice President, Institute for Peace & Diplomacy |
| Yousof Azizi | PhD Candidate in Public Administration at Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs |
Here is a list of other academics and civil society activists who have signed the letter on march 28 (in no particular order):
| Yoshiko Ozawa | Japan International Cooperation Agency |
| Mahmud Farjami | Associate Professor. at Kristiania University Colleges |
| Roham Afghani Khoraskani | Assistant Professor + Shahid Beheshti University |
| Milad Mohammadi | Postdoctoral researcher at University Hospital of Cologne |
| Arang Keshavarzian | Associate Professor, New York University |
| Mohammad Reza Farzanegan | Professor of Economics of the Middle East/ Philipps-Universität Marburg Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies (CNMS) |
| Meysam Akhtar | Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Arash massoudieh | Associate Professor and Chair, The Catholic University of America |
| Amir Sabbagh Molahosseini | Research Fellow, Queens University Belfast |
| Mohammadmehdi Saberioon | Postdoctoral researcher in German geoscience research centre |
| Saeed Bagheri | Dr./ Postdoctoral fellow, University of Reading |
| Abdolrasool Divsallar | Program Associate, European University Institute |
| Kaveh Ehsani | Assistant Professor DePaul University |
| Pouyan Tabasinejad | Vice President, Iranian Canadian Congress |
| Fatemeh Abdollahzadeh | Professor, Central Connecticut State University |
| Hamidreza Azizi | Visiting Fellow, German Institute for International and Security Affairs |
| Mahmood Shafeie Zargar | Assistant Professor, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |
| Ahmad Ehsandar | Research Associate – University of Waterloo |
| Abbas javadtalab | Assistant professor,Concordia university |
| Salar Haghighatafshar | Researcher at the Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Sweden |
| Eli Kramer | Institute of Philosophy, University of Wroclaw |
| Norma Claire Moruzzi | Director, International Studies Program, University of Illinois at Chicago |
| Alireza Keshavarz | Assistant Professor, Maynooth University |
| Damon Lynch | Doctoral Candidate at the University of Minnesota |
| Sanam Naraghi Anderlini | Founder/CEO International Civil Society Action Network |
| Mostafa Henaway | Social justice fellow/ PhD candidate geography planning and environmental studies Concordia University |
| Alireza Zandi Karimi | PhD, Part time faculty member, Concordia University |
| Melanie Shulman | Professor – Humber College |
| Anthony Paré | Professor, Universiy of British Columbia |
| Eli McCarthy | Adjunct Lecturer, Georgetown University |
| Reza Namdari | Community Activist, Engineer, Order of engineers |
* Names, titles and affiliations appear as provided by the signatories.
** Statistics mentioned in the letter are updated as of March 27, 2020.
