A/HRC/19/33 primary victims of these measures are often the most vulnerable classes, including women, children, the infirm and older persons, as well as the poor. These groups suffer more acutely as a result of denial of access to life-saving equipment and medications, basic food products and educational equipment. Others are prevented from joining the job market. Thus it has been observed, “under sanctions, the middle class is eliminated, the poor get poorer, and the rich get richer” as do those “who take control of smuggling and the black market. The Government and elite can actually benefit economically from sanctions, owing to this monopoly on illegal trade” (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2000/33, para. 50). This seems to indicate that unilateral coercive measures often have negative impacts that appear to disproportionately affect the poor and the vulnerable, the very persons for whom human rights principles seek to provide particular safeguards. 33. Further, there are several factors to be considered when assessing the impact of unilateral coercive measures on human rights in any given country. To begin with, the volume and type of trade/finance affected must be looked at very closely. This is because restrictions on capital flow and international trade can, in various ways and at different levels, reduce national income in the target State. This may exacerbate social problems such as unemployment. In addition, the extent of the economic linkage between the sender State and the target State should be scrutinized, as it has a direct connection with the gravity of the impact. Finding alternative suppliers of essential goods that are subjected to sanctions could prove to be costly and slow. Meanwhile, the population may be adversely affected by a lack of medication and other basic needs. Unilateral coercive measures tend to have an impact on the basic needs of the people, and thus on the enjoyment of their most basic human rights. When negative impacts affect the poor, weak and vulnerable, their lack of resilience and social protection can exacerbate the impacts further. 34. Long-term unilateral coercive measures may result in social problems and raise humanitarian concerns in relation to the most vulnerable segments of society. Accounts from target States maintain that unilateral coercive measures can adversely affect their job markets, impacting rights governed by article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 35. Unilateral coercive measures that impinge on the provision of an adequate standard of living, including medical care, food, clothing and housing, would have an impact on the implementation of article 25, paragraph 1, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and of articles 11 and 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 36. Women appear to be disproportionately affected by the impact of unilateral coercive measures, which hinders the implementation of article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Likewise, persons with disabilities appear to be disproportionately affected, which hampers the implementation of article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 37. Some States view unilateral coercive measures as infringing the right to selfdetermination, basing their claim on Articles 1, paragraph 2, and 55 of the Charter of the United Nations. Finally, these States note that unilateral coercive measures can also have the impact of the deprivation of one‟s means of subsistence, and can constitute an obstacle to the realization of the right to development. that Cuba is subject to deprivations that impinge on its citizens‟ human rights” (paras. 98-99). Second, it found that, by trying to force other countries into embargoing Cuba as well, the Government of the United States is attempting to turn a unilateral embargo into a multilateral embargo through coercive measures. The paper concluded that the effect of these sanctions will be “to deepen further the suffering of the Cuban people and increase the violation of their human rights” (para. 100). 10