100 lawyers from around the world have signed a letter to Biden: The surge in US financial sanctions has suffered civilians

Hundreds of lawyers from around the world have called on the United States to stop using unilateral economic sanctions, saying the tool amounts to collective punishment of civilians and is illegal under international law.

In a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden, lawyers, legal organizations and academics criticized the United States' increasing reliance on sanctions to punish and coerce its adversaries, saying such measures could lead to economic instability, hunger and reduced supplies of medicine and essential goods.

"Collective punishment, in the form of broad unilateral economic and financial sanctions, is standard practice in US foreign policy today," they wrote in the letter. They argue that while the use of sanctions is different from conventional war, "the collective impact on civilians can be just as indiscriminate, punitive, and lethal."

The letter pushes back against successive administrations' increasing reliance on financial sanctions rather than military force to punish countries like Russia and Iran. The wave of sanctions has shut Russia, Iran, Syria, Venezuela and many other countries out of the global economy, though many regimes have found workarounds to keep functioning.

U.S. officials typically cite humanitarian exemptions in broad economic sanctions, saying government actions are carefully planned to avoid harming civilians. Still, humanitarian groups have complained that sanctions have made it harder to reach civilians, blaming them for contributing to instability and poverty in Venezuela, Cuba and other countries.

the letter's signatories include human rights Lawyers, the National Lawyers Guild, a self-described progressive group, and the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy Democracy, the World Human Rights Association, and a law professor.