TEHRAN – The International Sociological Association (ISA) has issued a statement announcing that it stands against the economic sanctions that the United States has imposed on Iran amid the coronavirus outbreak that is sweeping the globe.

“We are concerned about the crippling effects of these sanctions on more than 100 million citizens of Iran, Venezuela, and Cuba. We deem these sanctions immoral and unconscionable. The measures have already negatively impacted the social and economic infrastructures in these countries,” the statement reads.

“Yet, at this critical juncture, and with the pandemic sweeping the globe, we are particularly concerned that the sanctions will further curb these countries’ ability to respond to and contain its adverse effects. We, thus, stand in solidarity with the citizens of these countries, condemn the restrictions set in place by sanctions, and urge the United States government to lift the sanctions.”

“Furthermore, we are concerned for and stand in solidarity with our colleagues, students and faculty in Iran, and elsewhere, in their call for a sustainable critical public sphere, free from internal and external pressures, where critical thinking and sociological imagination can flourish in safety. According to our statutes, the main function of the ISA is “to represent sociologists everywhere,” “advance sociological knowledge throughout the world,” and “support and strengthen the free development of sociology in cooperation with similar associations of social scientists.” 

“Thus, we fully support and endorse the statement published by our colleagues at the Iranian Sociological Association, in which they have pointed out the combined effects of sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic on Iranian sociology.” 

The statement came in response to a letter by Seyed Hossein Serajzadeh, president of the Iranian Sociological Association, parts of which are as follows:

“I am writing to you on behalf of the board and members of the Iranian Sociological Association to share our concern at the continued sanctions imposed by the US against Iran and their escalation and to call upon you to join our voice and take a stand for easing the sanctions at this very critical moment in view of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

With the pandemic sweeping through Iranian society and the escalation of sanctions, the economy has entered a deep recession, jeopardizing the livelihoods of 80 million Iranians. Sanctions have affected everybody, but have hit low-income people harder as the threat of losing their livelihoods has forced them to work under unsafe conditions in the midst of a fully-fledged public health crisis.

Today, more than ever, we need human solidarity and concerted action. The more the world becomes interconnected, the more our problems turn to be interrelated, and the more we need to move toward global collaboration to address them. 

The Iranian Sociological Association as a beneficiary of the common heritage of social sciences and their underlying concern for peace, justice, and human welfare, looks forward to the support of international colleagues in its call to mitigate the current situation and to help sustain the role of the Iranian sociological community at the face of adversity.

FB/MG