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Iranian Americans Work with Congress to Press for Humanitarian Sanctions Waiver
Members of Congress called on President Obama to extend a sanctions waiver for Iran earthquake relief assistance and take additional steps to stop sanctions from preventing food and medicine from reaching Iranians.
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Over 100 NIAC members attended meetings on Capitol Hill to urge for a humanitarian sanctions waiver as part of NIAC’s Leadership Conference. |
Washington, DC – Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and
eleven of his House colleagues called on President Obama today to
extend a sanctions waiver for Iran earthquake relief and to take
additional steps to stop sanctions from preventing food and medicine
from reaching Iranians.
Over one hundred NIAC members visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday during NIAC’s annual Leadership Conference to encourage
their representatives to sign the letter and to urge the President to take further action to enable food and medicine to reach Iranians.
The expiring waiver, which was issued in August
after deadly earthquakes struck northern Iran, was intended to allow
American charities to send humanitarian aid to help with relief efforts
in Iran.
Existing U.S. law prohibits sanctions against food,
medicine, and humanitarian goods. But while such items are technically
allowed to be exported to Iran, sanctions on Iranian banks have
eliminated almost all channels to facilitate such transactions.
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Congressional meetings focused on the community’s overwhelming opposition to war and broad sanctions, and support for diplomacy and human rights. |
Similarly, the earthquake waiver was intended to temporary
eliminate restrictions on direct financial support for earthquake
recovery efforts. But relief organizations reported that, even with the
waiver and existing exemptions for food and medicine,
financial sanctions continued to make it nearly impossible to
send donations or humanitarian goods to Iran.
The result is that some American charities were left with
only one option: stuffing suitcases with cash and flying them directly
into Iran. At the same time, companies have reported that sanctions are
blocking food and medicine sales to Iran, while reports inside of Iran
indicate increasing shortages of critical medicine and medical devices.
In their letter, the Representatives called on President
Obama “to take needed additional steps to ensure humanitarian goods that
are legally permitted under this waiver and existing licenses, such as
food and medicine, are able to reach the people of Iran.”
The letter is available here.
2012-10-04 22:51:34
Source: http://www.niacouncil.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=8615
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