US tries to head off UN plan to reform sanctions
In the past Field Exchange has published a number of pieces on the impact of international economic sanctions of food security in countries like Iraq, Cuba and Haiti (Issues 4 and 9). The developments summarised below may therefore be of interest to our readers. (Eds.)
Concerned about the humanitarian impact of sanctions on civilian populations, the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, set up a special committee last April to examine sanctions policy. The committee was due to recommend a shift towards so called 'smart sanctions' that are more clearly defined and better targeted. But the US, which is intent on maintaining tough sanctions against Iraq, with the backing of Britain, will almost certainly succeed in cutting out two key recommendations; one setting a time limit on sanctions and the other introducing majority voting on sanctions committees.
Critics claim that sanctions usually fail to undermine the targeted regimes and that the criteria for imposition and lifting of sanctions are too vague. In a draft copy of its report the committee says "sanctions regimes, in particular the security council resolutions that enact them, must be carefully designed, clearly establishing their goals, identifying the targets, tailoring the type of sanctions imposed so that they are adequate to the situations specifying clear criteria that need to be satisfied in order for the sanctions to be suspended or lifted."
Other committee recommendations include; targeting the finances of leaders rather than the general population; greater punishment for countries found to be breaking sanctions; and a "carrot-and-stick" approach which would see a gradual lifting of sanctions in response to partial compliance with UN resolutions. The committee also states; "Sanctions regimes should be designed to minimise the potential for adverse humanitarian impacts and to maximise the ability for humanitarian goods and services to reach civilian populations."
The committee recommends that food, medicine and medical supplies be excluded from sanctions regimes.
Guardian, Friday 9th February 2001, page 17 - Ewen MacAskill Diplomatic editor
More like this
FEX: Iraq - Sanctions Take Their Toll
By Killian Forde Under article 41 of the United Nations Charter, the UN Security Council (UNSC) may call upon member states to apply measures not involving the use of armed...
FEX: International Legal Consequences of the Conflict in Syria
By Natasha Harrington Natasha is a barrister (a member of the English Bar). She is currently working in Eversheds law firms' public international law and international...
FEX: The effect of trade sanctions on health and nutrition
Summary of published paper Health Centre in Haiti The most recent RRN network paper* reviews evidence of the impact of trade sanctions against Cuba, Haiti and Iraq. Although...
FEX: Nutritional surveys in Iraq: a call for improved quality
Summary of published paper1 Nutrition surveys can provide useful information if implemented using standardised methods Many reports on Iraq have claimed to demonstrate a rise...
FEX: Civil-military coordination during humanitarian health action
Summary of position paper1 A recent position paper has been produced to guide country-level health clusters on how to apply Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) civil...
FEX: Division Over Sanctions on Iraq
In the last issue of Field Exchange we published an article which focussed on the effects of sanctions on Iraq. The likely impact of the 'oil for food' deal on food security...
FEX: Fighting hunger on all fronts: AAH speak out in a new publication
Action Against Hunger (AAH) discuss their experiences of humanitarian interventions aimed at eliminating or preventing hunger in the newly published report: The Geopolitics of...
FEX: Issue 04 Editorial
Dear Readers Welcome to another issue of Field Exchange. Before we comment on the articles we have for you in this issue, we would like to share some of the feedback we...
FEX: Famine Cry: Iraq
May 5, 2003 Dear Field Exchange As we prepare to mount a colossal humanitarian intervention in Iraq, we should be circumspect and humble about our past foodaid operations in...
FEX: Resourcing Targeting (Special Supplement 1)
Agencies deciding to implement food aid targeting in emergencies often face constraints on targeting design. Three such factors are dealt with here: Quantity and quality of...
FEX: Afghanistan: who is to blame?
"If you look at the past year or so, you could blame the Taliban, but you must look to the roots of the crisis" Anuradha Mittall, Institute for Food and Development Policy,...
FEX: Therapeutic Feeding in an Insecure Area
Author: Kathy Carter, Nurse/Nutritionist and Acting Programme Manager for Oxfam in Liberia. Liberia has a history of virtually continuous civil war since 1989. Some say that...
FEX: The right to nutrition
Summary of unpublished paper Urban Jonsson, (the UNICEF regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa) presented a paper on 'The Right to Nutritional Status in Conflict...
FEX: IYCF-E Tech RRT support: Experiences from Iraq
By Sebsibie Teshome, Tech RRT IYCF-E adviser seconded from Save the Children, and Daniel Hadgu Takea, Tech RRT SBC adviser View this article as a pdf Lisez cet article en...
FEX: Coordinating the response to the Syria Crisis: the southern Turkey cross border experience
This views piece was developed by the ENN based on eight key informant interviews with donors, UN agencies and INGOs carried out during an ENN visit to southern Turkey in early...
FEX: Self-Targeting in Ambon, Indonesia “To be or not to be community minded”
By Carole Lambert Carole Lambert has been a Food Security Officer with Action Contre la Faim for the past four years, actively involved in programmes in the Ivory Coast,...
FEX: Synthesis of Key points from the SCN Symposium ‘Nutrition in the context of crisis and conflict’
Statement for endorsement by the UN Secretary General on Nutrition in Conflict and Crisis - 15th March 2002 As reported in the last Field Exchange, the ACC/SCN Sub Committee...
FEX: Nutrition and social protection
In recent years, social protection has increasingly gained attention as a powerful tool in the battle against poverty and inequality; social protection instruments are...
FEX: Infant Formula Distribution in Northern Iraq
Mother breastfeeding, Northern Iraq, 2003 Summary of assessment1 Between 19th June and 12th July, 2003, a nutrition and mother and child health assessment was carried out in...
FEX: 2011 Edition of the Sphere Handbook Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response
Farmers association level consultation at Chuko, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNPR) province, Ethiopia, August 2009 By Susan Thurstans, Paul Turnbull, Devrig...
Reference this page
US tries to head off UN plan to reform sanctions. Field Exchange 12, April 2001. p13. www.ennonline.net/fex/12/us
(ENN_3493)