PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
UN: UN official says sanctions effective method to build global stability
New York, US (PANA) - UN Under Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Mr. Jeffrey Feltman, has said sanctions implemented by the UN Security Council have had a positive track record, proving their efficacy in supporting UN member states overcome instability.
"UN sanctions have proved to be an effective complement to other Security Council instruments and actions; we know it is not perfect, but there is also no doubt that it works," Mr. Feltman, said at a briefing to the UN Security Council on the evolution of UN sanctions on Wednesday.
He recalled that the use of sanctions had had a long history within the UN body since its first application in 1966 on Southern Rhodesia and since then, 25 sanctions regimes had been implemented for a wide range of purposes.
They range from being used to support conflict resolution efforts to the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, and counter terrorism.
He noted that, currently, 15 sanctions regimes were in place, which, he said, was the highest number in the history of the UN at a comparatively modest cost of under US$30 million a year to manage.
Despite the long-standing use of sanctions, Mr. Feltman recalled that the Council had also shown its capacity to continuously innovate and adjust its sanctions regime with the most significant transformation being the 1994 shift from comprehensive to targeted sanctions.
The UN official said those sanctions included travel bans, asset freezes, arms embargoes, bans on the trade of commodities (diamonds, coal, wildlife products, charcoal), restrictions on items, material, equipment, goods and technology related to nuclear ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction programmes, as well as bans on the export of certain luxury goods.
In addition, he disclosed that the 1999 introduction of sanctions monitoring groups formed the basis of another "important innovation" leading to the 11 monitoring groups, teams and panels currently working world-wide in support of the Security Council and its sanctions committees.
He explained that much work was to be done to raise the awareness of member states that UN sanctions were meant to be "supportive not punitive".
"They are not meant to cripple states but to help them overcome instability, address massive human rights violations, curb illegal smuggling and counter terrorism.
"Some member states already do understand this and have requested the Security Council to adopt, fine-tune or strengthen targeted measures, to support their fragile political transitions and national reconciliation efforts. Many others request the Council to strengthen targeted measures to help protect against terrorism and other illicit activities," Mr. Feltman stated.
He delineated a series of proposals for the Council’s consideration on how to better coordinate the sanctions process, including the increased use of assessment missions to take stock of the impact of sanctions, and the expansion of the relevant designation criteria to address specific human rights violations.
Others, he said, were the creation of a clear and standardized listing/delisting framework and the strengthening of due process when considering the designation of individuals and entities.
"More work is also needed to provide assistance to UN member states implementing UN sanctions. This will clearly take effort and resources, and some more work is needed to take into greater account the rights of individuals, entities and member states designated for targeted measures," the UN political affairs chief said.
He acknowledged, however, that despite the improvements and updates required, the UN’s
sanctions regime still functioned accordingly and "UN sanctions, in short, work."
Also speaking, Mr. Jurgen Stock, INTERPOL’s Secretary-General, said his organization’s had been supporting sanctions implementation through its global law enforcement network.
"INTERPOL supports the implementation of UN sanctions by enhancing the quality of information available to the sanctions Committees."
Mr. Stock said in in addition to this support, INTERPOL also assisted in the effective implementation of specific UN sanctions, related to individuals, such as the travel ban and asset freezing and goods like the arms embargo and illegal natural resource exploitation.
He outlined how the agency remained keen on hearing new ideas on how to improve sanctions implementation and emphasized the importance of strengthening INTERPOL’s alliance with the UN.
-0- PANA AA/MA 26Nov2014
"UN sanctions have proved to be an effective complement to other Security Council instruments and actions; we know it is not perfect, but there is also no doubt that it works," Mr. Feltman, said at a briefing to the UN Security Council on the evolution of UN sanctions on Wednesday.
He recalled that the use of sanctions had had a long history within the UN body since its first application in 1966 on Southern Rhodesia and since then, 25 sanctions regimes had been implemented for a wide range of purposes.
They range from being used to support conflict resolution efforts to the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, and counter terrorism.
He noted that, currently, 15 sanctions regimes were in place, which, he said, was the highest number in the history of the UN at a comparatively modest cost of under US$30 million a year to manage.
Despite the long-standing use of sanctions, Mr. Feltman recalled that the Council had also shown its capacity to continuously innovate and adjust its sanctions regime with the most significant transformation being the 1994 shift from comprehensive to targeted sanctions.
The UN official said those sanctions included travel bans, asset freezes, arms embargoes, bans on the trade of commodities (diamonds, coal, wildlife products, charcoal), restrictions on items, material, equipment, goods and technology related to nuclear ballistic missiles and other weapons of mass destruction programmes, as well as bans on the export of certain luxury goods.
In addition, he disclosed that the 1999 introduction of sanctions monitoring groups formed the basis of another "important innovation" leading to the 11 monitoring groups, teams and panels currently working world-wide in support of the Security Council and its sanctions committees.
He explained that much work was to be done to raise the awareness of member states that UN sanctions were meant to be "supportive not punitive".
"They are not meant to cripple states but to help them overcome instability, address massive human rights violations, curb illegal smuggling and counter terrorism.
"Some member states already do understand this and have requested the Security Council to adopt, fine-tune or strengthen targeted measures, to support their fragile political transitions and national reconciliation efforts. Many others request the Council to strengthen targeted measures to help protect against terrorism and other illicit activities," Mr. Feltman stated.
He delineated a series of proposals for the Council’s consideration on how to better coordinate the sanctions process, including the increased use of assessment missions to take stock of the impact of sanctions, and the expansion of the relevant designation criteria to address specific human rights violations.
Others, he said, were the creation of a clear and standardized listing/delisting framework and the strengthening of due process when considering the designation of individuals and entities.
"More work is also needed to provide assistance to UN member states implementing UN sanctions. This will clearly take effort and resources, and some more work is needed to take into greater account the rights of individuals, entities and member states designated for targeted measures," the UN political affairs chief said.
He acknowledged, however, that despite the improvements and updates required, the UN’s
sanctions regime still functioned accordingly and "UN sanctions, in short, work."
Also speaking, Mr. Jurgen Stock, INTERPOL’s Secretary-General, said his organization’s had been supporting sanctions implementation through its global law enforcement network.
"INTERPOL supports the implementation of UN sanctions by enhancing the quality of information available to the sanctions Committees."
Mr. Stock said in in addition to this support, INTERPOL also assisted in the effective implementation of specific UN sanctions, related to individuals, such as the travel ban and asset freezing and goods like the arms embargo and illegal natural resource exploitation.
He outlined how the agency remained keen on hearing new ideas on how to improve sanctions implementation and emphasized the importance of strengthening INTERPOL’s alliance with the UN.
-0- PANA AA/MA 26Nov2014
