UN Sanctions Reform - The Watson Institute for International Studies

Workshop on UN Sanctions 16-17 July 2004
4. Advancing the Targeted Sanctions Agenda and Workshop Evaluation
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants were provided the opportunity to give
feedback on the kinds of issues that would benefit from discussion in possible future
workshops, in addition to assessing the success of the workshop in achieving the stated
goals. Through a general plenary discussion and written evaluations, participants’ views
were sought on the full range of substantive and administrative matters in planning the
workshop.
Continuing to advance our understanding of targeted sanctions:
Substantive ideas for future discussion
In the course of workshop discussions, and especially in the concluding plenary,
presenters and participants raised a number of key substantive issues to be addressed in
moving forward with the targeted sanctions agenda. These may be grouped under two
headings:
(1) Building on the sanctions reform processes to refine the targeted sanctions tool
Participants all acknowledged the utility of the recommendations put forward as part of
the sanctions reform processes. Indeed, many of the specific findings of the processes
have been implemented in practice. However, participants also reflected that these
recommendations are now up to five years old. The interceding period has revealed areas
in which further refinements to the targeted sanctions tool are needed. For example, the
effectiveness of current listing and delisting processes could be improved. Specifically,
there may be a need to evaluate the kinds of information used to justify inclusion on lists,
and the procedures for delisting. Regarding Expert Panels, there would be some benefit
in analyzing the capability and utility of including humanitarian assessments in the
experts’ mandates. Further, questions have emerged regarding the sequencing of
sanctions measures. To improve leverage over the targets, multiple resolutions could be
used in imposing different kinds of targeted sanctions (perhaps initiated with targeted
financial sanctions, which require timely passage and implementation). In these and
other areas, former targets of sanctions may be a useful source of information about the
effects of sanctions.
While new questions have arisen regarding the operation of targeted sanctions, others are
enduring, suggesting that new ways of approaching issues be considered. For example,
participants observed that the international community is yet to develop mechanisms to
improve the capacity of Members States to implement targeted sanctions.
(2) Targeted sanctions in an evolving political context
Again pointing to the passage of time since the findings of the sanctions reform processes
were published, participants noted that the broader context in which targeted sanctions
are implemented has changed, giving rise to a number of novel challenges. For example,
we have little experience in the role that targeted sanctions ought to play in considering
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