We treat sanctions as a central instrument of U.S. imperialism. This page describes how the Tribunal structured its review of sanctions across social, political, economic, and ecological dimensions. The aim is to make the scale and variety of harm visible to publics and movements, using testimony and documentation rather than official press talking points.

The Tribunal planned hearings on sanctions affecting sixteen countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The opening session took place in January 2023 in New York City, and the closing session took place in July 2023 in Caracas, Venezuela. Both sessions were held in person. Country-focused hearings ran online from winter 2023 through summer 2023.

The countries addressed in this phase of the Tribunal were Cuba, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Nicaragua, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. 

Targeted sanctions and blockades reach into daily life far beyond headline politics. The Tribunal organized work around fifteen cross-cutting themes, knowing that not every country hearing would speak to every theme. Expert and direct witnesses shaped which themes featured in each national context. The themes were public health, financial systems, refugees and migration, exports and tourism, education, technology development, infrastructure, agriculture, civil society, development, women’s empowerment, macroeconomics, manufacturing and industry, environmental impact, and welfare and employment. 

During country hearings, expert witnesses, survivors, and legal specialists presented evidence and analysis regarding U.S. policy. The countries included are not a full catalog of states affected by sanctions, but they illustrate how imperialist sanctions operate and how their effects stack across regions and sectors.