December 6, 2024

This article is based on a mass email sent out by the Sanctions Kill! campaign.

Join us Tuesday, Dec. 10, in person or by zoom for a program on “Solidarity with People-Centered Human Rights,” at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT at Metropolitan AME Church, 1518 M St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20005.

On International Human Rights Day, Tuesday, Dec 10, 2024, learn how U.S. sanctions violate human rights, with speakers from Palestine and diplomats from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. Also speaking will be representatives of the Sanctions Kill / Americas Without Sanctions Campaign and Zone of Peace.

Human Rights Day is observed annually around the world on December 10, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrines rights that everyone is entitled to as a human being.

As this Human Rights Day approaches, we are horrified that the genocidal terror on Gaza is not only continuing but spreading throughout the region. We demand that the killing stop!

Many people are unaware, however, that thousands of Palestinians were being killed prior to the start of the Gaza war in October of 2023 due to the economically coercive measures (“sanctions”) imposed on them by Israel and the United States. Sanctions prevented the reconstruction and maintenance of crucial infrastructure, severely limiting the availability of clean drinking water and of electricity for hospital services, while the entry of food and medicines was also restricted.

Even before October 7, 2023, 98% of Gaza’s water was unfit for human consumption, causing rampant waterborne illnesses which were responsible for 12% of childhood deaths. Yes, sanctions kill!

The U.S. is currently imposing sanctions on 40 countries, accounting for one-third of the world’s population. So, this Human Rights Day, we demand an end to economically coercive measures! 

Sanctioned countries are insisting on an end to these measures that violate their people’s right to development. There is a growing movement to enshrine this right in a convention on the right to development. So, this Human Rights Day, we say: “Human rights = the right to development.”

We advocate for people-centered human rights, such as the right to education, health care, housing, adequate food, clean water and peace — rights that are respected in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. These countries have also taken a principled stance in international fora to stop the genocide underway in Gaza. Regrettably, this has caused them to be further targeted with economic warfare by Israel and the United States.

This Human Rights Day, we demand that countries not be punished for upholding international law, and we demand people-centered human rights in the U.S.

Register to attend and to donate: Forum on Human Rights Human Rights = Right to Live! eventbrite.com.

Register to tune in by Zoom: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tZBOyiJPQOudUzHUjOS2Eg

The program includes music and refreshments.