Interviews
On 19 September 2024, the Special Rapporteur held a press conference following the presentation of her reports to the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council (video)
On 3 July 2024, the Special Rapporteur gave an interview to the Forum for Democracy International on “The Impact of Sanctions”. The interview took place on X, former Twitter (Link)
On 9 and 16 February 2024, the Special Rapporteur gave a two-part interview to Venezuelanalysis on unilateral coercive measures and their humanitarian impact (PART 1 and PART 2)
On 20 October 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by UN News, following her presentation of her thematic report on “Secondary Sanctions, Over-Compliance and Human Rights” to the General Assembly’s 3rd Committee (Interview in Russian)
On 15 September 2023, the Special Rapporteur held a press conference following the presentation of her reports to the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council (Webcast archive)
On 15 September 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Russia Today and Ria Novosti following the presentation of her reports to the 54th session of the UN Human Rights Council
On 6 September 2023, the Special Rapporteur provided written responses to Voice of America regarding the mandate and its work on Afghanistan
On 22 March 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Christianity Today on the impact of unilateral sanctions on post-earthquake relief efforts in Syria (Article)
On 22 March 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on the impact of UCMs on environment in Iran
On 16 March 2023, the Special Rapporteur participated in firechat event organized by Relieve Syria (Youtube video)
On 2 March 2023, the Special Rapporteur provided written input to the Mizan News Agency
On 18 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur provided written input to the Kayhan Newspaper (Article)
On 16 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interview by RTV Slovenjia on unilateral sanctions and post-earthquake situation in Syria (Article)
On 16 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur was featured by BreakThrough News regarding the impact of unilateral sanctions on post-earthquake relief efforts in Syria (Video Link)
On 14 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by ABC Spain on the impact of unilateral sanction on post-earthquake relief efforts in Syria (Article)
On 13 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur was featured by CBC News “Nothing is Foreign” Podcast (Podcast Link)
On 13 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Democracy Now on the impact of unilateral sanctions on post-earthquake relief efforts in Syria (Link & Video / Twitter)
On 13 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by CGTN on the impact of unilateral sanctions on post-earthquake relief efforts in Syria (Link & Video)
On 13 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Al Mayadeen News Network on the impact of unilateral sanction on post-earthquake relief efforts in Syria
On 13 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur provided written input to The New Humanitarian
On 10 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Sky News on the impact of unilateral sanctions on post-earthquake relief efforts in Syria
On 7 February 2023, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Al Mayadeen News Network on the issue of unilateral sanctions and emergency response
On 5 December 2022, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by CCTV regarding her mission to Syria.
On 16 November 2022, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Russian Today on the situation in Syria, following the SR’s official country visit
On 10 November the Special Rapporteur was featured on the BBC on the situation in Syria, following the her official country visit
On 6 November, the Special Rapporteur was featured in an article by Iran's Judiciary News Agency دوهان : مردم ایران تحت تاثیر تحریمهای یکجانبه قرار گرفتهاند /آمریکا پاسخی به درخواست برای گفتوگو درباره سیاست تحریمی نداد - قوه قضائیه | خبرگزاری میزان | Mizan Online News Agencyتحریم 2022
On 20 October The Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Chatham House on Magnitsky-type sanctions and the use of economic sanctions as leverage to incentivise human rights progress or punish human rights violations
On 22 September, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by the International Bar Association for a podcast on sanctions.
On 30th August, the Special Rapporteur held an interview with Newsdesk regarding the findings of her visit to Iran. The interview was featured on Iran International on 11 September, https://youtu.be/TfWFGpqFJD4?t=1109
On 25 July, 2022, the Special Rapporteur was featured by PressTV regarding the impact of sanctions on Iran on patients with EB disease, also known as butterfly skin patients https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/07/25/686203/U-S-Sanctions-on-Iran-s-Butterflies.
On Tuesday 12 July 2022, The Special Rapporteur, was interviewed by Chinese media (CCTV China Media Group and Xinhua New Agency), regarding the impact of UCMs on the right to health, humanitarian aid and right to development. Unilateral sanctions violate international law, impede advancing Sustainable Development Goals_英语频道_央视网(cctv.com).
On 17 June 2022, The Special Rapporteur, was interviewed by the agency Zeitgeschehen im Fokus, regarding her country visit to Iran.
On 13 June the Special Rapporteur gave an interview on VOX Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis and the US decision to block the foreign assets of the Afghan Central Bank, titled “Afghanistan’s staggering set of crises, explained”.
On 17 June Special Rapporteur Zeitgeschehen im Fokus on the issue of Unilateral Coercive Measures.
On 2 June 2022, the Special Rapporteur gave an interview to the French news magazine “Le Point” as a follow-up to her country visit to Iran.
On 8 February 2022, the SR was interviewed for Voice of America, regarding how sanctions affect internally displaced people and refugees.
On 12 January 2022, the Special Rapporteur gave an interview for the German media channel, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Programmgruppe Inland, Redaktion MONITOR
On 22 December 2021, the Special Rapporteur gave an interview for ODVV Interview: The impact of unilateral sanctions on health sector is life-threatening
On 14 December 2021, The Special Rapporteur gave an interview for China Daily - Global Weekly, regarding Women's rights in the Middle East
On 13 October 2021, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by the International Review of the Red Cross, on the topic of Unilateral coercive measures, IHL and impartial humanitarian action. The document has been published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 October 2021 // International Review of the Red Cross , First View , pp. 1 – 26 DOI
On 09 September 2021, the Special Rapporteur was featured in a podcast by Venezuela Analysis, titled “Sanctions Kill.”
On 24 August 2021, The Special Rapporteur was interviewed by: In These Times journal outlet, for the article “Sanctions Didn't Help Cubans, Iranians or Venezuelans. They Won't Help Afghans.”
On 27 May 2021, the Special Rapporteur presented an interview for Valdai club on the notion of unilateral coercive measures and their impact on economic rights
On 12 April 2021, the Special Rapporteur participated in a Fault lines, Sputnik DC Washington, Interview on the humanitarian impact of sectoral and targeted sanctions in Syria.
On 12 March 2021, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by PressTV.
On 4 March 2021, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by the TV channel CGTN Beijing, as well as by Jackson Hinkle in the live broadcast “the Dive”.
On 3 March 2021, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Richard Medhurst, an independent Syrian-British journalist based in Vienna, in a live broadcast. She was also interviewed by News with Rick Sanchez on RT America TV channel.
On 2 March 2021, in an interview with the Zeit Fragen, the Special Rapporteur expressed her concern regarding the fact that the appalling majority of unilateral sanctions is violating international law.
On 25 February 2021, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed in a podcast of Slava Zilber.
On 23 February 2021, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by the Zeit Fragen, where she explained the scope of her mandate, the notions and specifics of unilateral sanctions, the challenges of secondary sanctions and over compliance, and the problem of delivery of humanitarian aid.
In that connection, the Special Rapporteur presented her preliminary findings regarding the official visit to Venezuela in an interview with CNN café and the Grayzone news website on 16 February 2021, as well as in an interview with W-Radio Columbia, on 17 February 2021.
On 14 January 2021, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by the Grayzone, independent news website, on the negative impact of the Caesar act, imposing sanctions on Syria, on the possibility of rebuilding the country and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
On 28 October 2020, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Afshin Rattansi for the Going Underground, Russia Today's TV show.
- Ms. Douhan spoke about the impact of US sanctions on countries such as Venezuela, Iran and Syria, how sanctions are preventing the purchase of vital medical equipment during Coronavirus in Iran, how unilateral sanctions are attacking fundamental human rights such as the right to health and the right to education, why the fear of sanctions violates human rights as sanctions themselves and much more. The Going Underground published also the full text of the comments received from the Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy European Commission about the matters and issues discussed in this interview.
On 9 October 2020, the Special Rapporteur gave live interview to the TV Press on the humanitarian impact of US sanctions against Iran introduced one day before the interview.
On 22 September 2020, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by CCTV news channel
On 22 September 2020, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by Al-Mayadeen Arabic news channel
On 20 August 2020, the Special Rapporteur responded to a request for comment made by National Review, America's magazine for conservative news, commentary, and opinion, to inform the readers of its article "Will a U.N. Human-Rights Expert Defend Belarus's Dictator?", about the UN Special Procedures mandate addressing sanctions.
- In her comments, the Special Rapporteur explained that the application of unilateral sanctions should reflect the principles of legality, legitimacy, necessity, proportionality and protection of human rights, especially the rights of women, children, the elderly and other vulnerable categories of the population. Regardless of the grounds and purposes for introducing unilateral sanctions, humanitarian concerns should always be taken into account. Sanctions, even when implemented for legitimate purposes, must comply with human rights standards, including the rights to life, to due process and the presumption of innocence, and shall include relevant humanitarian exemptions and procedural safeguards. A common reason for unilateral sanctions is to promote more respect for human rights in other countries, but human rights cannot be protected by the violation of human rights. This is precisely the kind of problem that she focuses on through my mandate.
On 18 August 2020, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by the Truthside tv YouTube channel.
- During the interview, the Special Rapporteur spoke about the impact of sanctions on human rights and her mandate, in particular she spoke about sanctions, which, under certain conditions and if they do not comply with international law, can bring suffering and death.
On 17 July 2020, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by the Russian International Affairs Council, a Moscow based non-profit academic and diplomatic think tank.
- During the interview, the Special Rapporteur spoke about the impact of sanctions on human rights, in particular about the US sanctions against the judges and employees of the International Criminal Court.
On 12 July 2020, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by the @AlMayadeenNews, a twitter-based TV channel. During the interview, the Special Rapporteur spoke about the impact of sanctions on human rights and her mandate.
On 5 July 2020, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by ONT, the Second National TV channel in Belarus.
- During the interview, the Special Rapporteur spoke about the impact of sanctions on human rights that became more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Such restrictions have a negative impact on the economic situation in different countries: unemployment occurs; there is not enough funds to ensure the functioning of medical infrastructure. "For example, according to Human Rights Watch, today when entering hospitals in Venezuela, you need to bring water, not only for drinking, but also for hygiene needs. In Syria, it is not possible to purchase medical equipment or tests, as sanctions are imposed. Under the terms of the sanctions imposed by the United States, today they do only 100 tests a day, which we understand is very small in the context of the pandemic," Ms. Douhan said. "Humanitarian organizations have faced the fact that it is difficult to obtain a license. But even if there is a license to deliver a particular type of product, it does not mean that by delivering the goods, for example, to Syria, they can refuel the car to get the aid to their destination. Sanctions still prohibit them from buying any petroleum products, including gasoline to refuel one tank of the car to deliver humanitarian aid," the Special Rapporteur explained. (at 48:42 min of the broadcast).
On 24 June 2020, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by the Eurasia Expert online news agency. The topic of the interview was about uncontrolled use of sanctions that threatens international relation
On 14 April 2020, the Special Rapporteur was interviewed by the Belarusian Telegraph Agency (BelTA), which underscored her role in the promotion and protection of human rights in general and, in particular, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Link access: Interviews.