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Section 1: Abstract
The proliferation of the United Nations (UN) sanctions regime since 1990 has seen devastating humanitarian consequences and gross inadequacies in the organization of the sanctions committees. After a brief background of the issue (section 2), this paper contains a reform proposal on how the UN Security Council can transform sanctions policy into a more refined tool to ensure compliance and maintain international peace and security without undermining humanitarian obligations as directed under the UN charter. ... These policy responses are more likely to be effective than any attempts to abolish the sanctions committee format in favour of a United Nations Sanctions Agency, as explained in section 4.
Section 2: Background
This paper aims to review the use of economic sanctions as a tool of the UN Security Council as authorized under Article 41 of the UN Charter. UN sanctions are used to apply pressure on a target country to change behaviour or policy that is perceived as a threat to international peace and security.
The effectiveness of sanctions has been a matter of debate for over half a century, exhibiting marginal success in achieving their objectives. The Institute for International Economics reviewed over 100 cases in which sanctions were used, concluding that in 34% of cases, sanctions were successful in contributing to the desired goal. ... Many failures are not only due to the increasingly interdependent global economies, but also due to the use of sanctions in support of human rights and nuclear nonproliferation, which represent modest policy goals often employed to appease domestic constituencies. For these reasons, sanctions have traditionally been viewed as an ineffective policy tool.
The end of the Cold War allowed for a breakthrough in international cooperation, with particular emphasis placed on fully exploiting the UN Security Council instruments stipulated under Chapter VII of the UN Charter: in particular, coercive economic sanctions. Despite the evidence that sanctions were an ineffective tool, the 1990’s saw the various UN Security Council Sanctions Committees impose sanctions against Iraq (1990), the former Yugoslavia (1991, 1992, and 1998), Libya (1992), Liberia (1992), Somalia (1992), parts of Cambodia (1992), Haiti (1993), parts of Angola (1993, 1997, and 1998), Rwanda (1994), Sudan (1996), Sierra Leone (1997), and Afghanistan (1999). The goals of the sanctions were diverse, but the evidence is clear that despite the results, the UN was pursuing to resolve conflict, enforce compliance and uphold global peace and security by escalating the use of sanctions.
One important development in UN sanctions policy was the shift to ‘smart sanctions’. The use of comprehensive sanctions such as general trade embargoes were increasingly seen as ineffective and a blunt instrument with dire humanitarian consequences. Thus, the strategic targeting of sanctions such as arms embargoes, flight bans, travel bans, commodity boycotts and freezing financial assets are seen as a crucial element of a sanctions policy that aims to punish the leaders of the targeted country and reduce the impact on the general population. ... Reports by humanitarian organizations on the effect of sanctions on Iraq portray rising inflation, shortages in pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, deterioration of health infrastructure such as water and sewerage systems, and serious violation of humanitarian law and rights of children. UN organizations such as United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Secretary-General have all expressed grave concerns for the welfare of the Iraqi people.
Approximate Word count = 2652
Approximate Pages = 10.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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