Position of the Delegation of Canada regarding sanctions


Although an important tool of the Security Council action and a potent means to promote peace, the example of Iraq has shown the costs of sanctions in human terms are sometimes too high.
Canada acknowledges the need for more targeted sanctions, not only against abusive national elites, but also terrorists, rebel movements, modern day warlords and other non-state actors who profit from human suffering.
Where comprehensive sanctions do exist, the need for extreme vigilance with regard to the humanitarian impact must be a priority.
Furthermore, humanitarian assessments before such measures are imposed, are also important because sanctions must reflect the will of the international community not just the interests of its most powerful members.
Therefore, we need to apply the experience of the past, good and bad, to ensure that this powerful tool is used correctly, creatively and coherently so that the result does not diminish, but rather advances human security.

Cognizant of the current debate in the international community about the effective application and targeting of sanctions by the international community,

Emphasizing that sanctions regimes can only be effective if they are a flexible tool in a wider negotiating process,

Recognizing the important role of all relevant actors: United Nations and its agencies, international governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations in the international community,

Believing that the member states will support a reform of the Security Council that would enable the establishment of more effective and equitable sanctions regimes,

Deeply concerned that complaints about scattershot, misapplied, or unenforced sanctions might lead the international community to abandon what is the U.N.'s unique capability and its most effective enforcement measure,

Deeply conscious that comprehensive United Nations sanctions successfully wore down Serbia's resolve to back the war in Bosnia, but have been criticized for inflicting serious hardship on the population of Iraq, at least before implementation of the "oil for-food" program,

Deeply concerned about the increasing number of threats to the international peace and security and breaches of the UN Charter in all regions,

Deeply concerned about the adverse consequences of economic sanctions, such as embargoes and blockades, on human rights,

Aware that legitimate concerns about unintended impacts of sanctions regimes that drag on and on - sometimes with more devastating impact on the least politically influential and the most vulnerable sectors of society than on the power elite of the transgressor country - are eroding support for sanctions in some quarters,

Aware, moreover, that such measures most seriously affect the innocent population, in particular the weak and the poor, especially women and children,

Deeply concerned that such measures have a tendency to aggravate the imbalances in income distribution already present in the countries concerned,

Having examined all relevant material on this important issue,

Expecting from member states concerned to reconsider their adoption of or support for such measures, even if the legitimate goals pursued are not yet attained, if after a reasonable period they appear not to be bringing about the desired changes in policy, regardless of the nature of that policy,

1. Calls for an equitable geographical distribution of votes in the SC if we are to succeed in devising "smarter" sanction regimes.

2. Urges faster reaction of the SC to the breaches of international peace and security.

3. Calls upon the greater role of the Secretariat in the assessment of the potential humanitarian effects and encourages it to provide its assessments.

4. Emphasizes that sanctions must be carried out on the basis of international law and binding rules; they should become a part of international law in a way of precise codification.

5. Recognizes that the aim of sanctions is to force the state, which poses a threat to international peace and security, to act in compliance with the international law and accept the decisions of the SC; the imposition of sanction regime over military supplies should in this respect form an important element of a sanction regime.

6. Considers properly designed, implemented, and applied sanctions as part of a coherent strategy, including economic sanctions, to be a valuable tool for enforcing peremptory norms of international law.

7. Accepts the sanctions as indispensable, but used as a last resort against countries whose actions threaten international peace and security; they are to be used only when all diplomatic means are exhausted.

8. Reminds that sanctions are not the only step in a wide process of assuring international peace and security.

9. Emphasizes that the purpose of sanctions is not to punish or retaliate but only to alter behaviour of decision-making elite; main goal is to alter politics in direction of consideration of international law.

10. Requests that sanction regimes shall be carefully tailored to the particular situation in which they are to be applied.

11. Further requests that the influence of sanctions must be evaluated in advance; that would make possible to the SC to predict consequences (political, economic and humanitarian).

12. Advocates that sanctions have to be monitored all the time, reports on progress must be publicly available.

13. Calls upon the member states to develop capacities for monitoring compliance with sanctions resolutions and for reporting the results of this monitoring to the Security Council as a whole; the Council should engage in consultations with a broader range of intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations concerning both the design and implementation of sanctions resolutions, and it should be given greater staff support to improve the planning and implementation of non-military sanctions.

14. Reminds that sanctions are to be imposed equally upon all parties which violate the principles of the Charter and not selectively upon politically weaker nations.

15. Urges that sanctions have to be specifically directed against the decision-making elites (abusive national elites, terrorists, rebel movements, modern day warlords and other non-state actors) not against the civil population; a development of smart sanctions that are less harmful and more affective is needed:
- Financial sanctions against members and co-operators of the ruling structure
- Embargo on supply of weapons
- Prohibition of travelling for members of ruling elite
- Prohibition of co-operation in international activities for the ruling elite
- Freezing of financial property for members of ruling elite abroad
- Blocking of financial transactions
- Limitation of loans and credits to the ruling elite
- Limitation of trade with real estate
- We must successfully identify financial property of individuals abroad for the possibility of their freezing
- Problem are still off-shore centres, they have to be dealt with
- Control over non-bank transactions and new financial instruments is needed.

16. Recommends that sanctions regime is to be applied swiftly and thoroughly rather than gradually escalating; the interval between introduction and execution must be short as much as possible, so that members of ruling elite do not have enough time to move or hide their property.

17. Emphasizes that sanctions shall never have an adverse effect on human rights; the need for extreme vigilance with the regard to humanitarian impact must be a priority if sanctions are to be used in compliance with the highest humanitarian concern.

18. Declares accordingly that sanctions must not prohibit, or practically limit, the importation of food and medicine, and other necessities in that society, such as for the maintenance of civil infrastructure.

19. Requests that humanitarian aid should be sent to the targeted countries.

20. Notes that a complete isolation of a targeted country can cause more harm than good to the civilian population and is not necessary.

21. Condemns the use of sanctions that have detrimental effects on the environment.

22. Expresses its hope that sanctions shall be imposed in such a way that the arrest of the persons indicted by the ICJ or other judicial bodies that are part of the UN system can be carried out.

23. Supports the termination of sanctions only after the confirmation of the changed behaviour.

24. Proclaims that clear criteria of lifting the sanctions are to be determined before their imposition.

25. Accepts in special cases, when criteria are partly met, the lifting of sanctions, as a mean of encouragement for further progress.

26. Advocates the measuring of the effects of sanctions in nations that are neighbours or major trading partners of the target and compensation, especially compensation to poor and vulnerable groups.

27. Endorses the compensation of the third states and neighbours from a special fund for their loss because of sanctions.

28. Calls for a further development of the permanent legal mechanism for addressing problems pertaining to the implementation of the Article 50.

The following Amendments have also been adopted:

THE AMENDMENT ON A DRAFT RESOLUTION NO. 1/1 : THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A FUND FOR ALL THE STATES THAT HAVE SUFFERED DAMAGES AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS AGAINST TARGETED STATES.


This amendment is an addition to article 27 of the draft resolution no. 1/1.


All of the members of UN would make regular contributions to this fund accordingly to the height of GDP of each of the contributing countries. These contributions would then be available as a compensation for the non-targeted countries, that suffered damages as a result of the imposition of sanctions upon targeted states.

In order to establish the eligibility of any particular state for a compensation from this fund and to monitor the spending of the means allocated from the fund a Commission for assessment of the negative effects of the use of sanctions on non-targeted countries should be established.

The Commission would be comprised of experts in the field of economics.

The work of the commission would be supervised by the general assembly (second committee), to which regular reports concerning the work of the commission shall be sent.

Any state that would consider herself eligible for a compensation from this fund, would have to make a formal complaint to the commission stating the reasons for its eligibility, providing a crude assessment of the damages suffered through the imposition of sanctions against targeted states.

The Commission shall have the right to establish fact-finding missions which would be sent to the country in order to establish the validity of its claims. On the basis of the report of the fact-finding mission, the Commission shall made a proposition to the General Assembly concerning the apportion of the means from the fund to a particular country.

The General Assembly shall adopt the proposal after the consultation with ACABQ (Advisory committee for administrative and budgetary questions) and CPC (Coordination and program committee) with a qualified majority.


AN AMENDMENT TO POINTS 12 AND 13 TO THE DRAFT RESOLUTION 1/1:
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COLLECTIVE MEASURES COMMITTEE

1. A second Collective Measures Committee will be established as an organ within the framework of the General Assembly responsible for the improvement of sanctions management of the Security Council and for the streamline of its working procedures in dealing with sanctions.

2. Committee would carry out its functions with an appropriate degree of transparency and would be charged, in particular, with the responsibility of:
a) assisting the Security Council in outlining general policy in the field of sanctions about when and where sanctions are to be used, respecting the norms of international law and objective criteria
b) advising the Security Council of the probable impact of the proposed sanctions from the humanitarian point of view, as well as from the point of view of enforcement and efficacy, which are based on the comprehensive pre-assessment study
c) monitoring the implementation and assessing political, economic, social and humanitarian effects of sanctions imposed by the Security Council,
d) establishing appropriate arrangements and channels of communication with countries and parties concerned, organs, organisations and bodies of the UN system, in order to improve the enforcement of sanctions and to collect all information available on alleged violations of arms embargoes and other sanctions regimes,
e) elaborating ways and means to ensure the effectiveness of existing sanctions and to minimise their collateral damage, including through regular visits of Chair- and Vice-Chairpersons to the regions concerned in order to obtain firsthand accounts of the impact of sanctions regimes and the results and difficulties in their implementation,
f) elaborating ways and means to ensure the efficiency of management of sanctions regimes by helping governments in the adoption of the national legislation needed for the implementation of mandated sanctions, in creation of monitoring measures and of resources for enforcement in a way to bridge the widening gap between the national capabilities of developed and developing countries, who are often closest to the target state
g) encouraging a sanctions training facility for public officials, particularly from developing countries, to increase their understanding of sanctions laws, monitoring and enforcement
h) estimating potential and actual losses and costs incurred by third States and collating information on international assistance available to such States,
i) co-ordinating the relevant activities within the UN Secretariat, as well as by the concerned organisations both within and outside the UN system, especially by assessing and suggesting ways to forge closer links with regional organisations in accordance with the Chapter VIII of the Charter, international financial institutions, international business and non-governmental organisations
j) collating information on and examining all existing sanctions and similar regimes, including those established at the regional level, by international organisations and through other international arrangements of universal and regional character;
k) monitoring the change of policy in the targeted state and proposing their lifting if the policy leads to compliance with standards of international law
l) developing operating principles for the use of sanctions to enhance their effectiveness with other elements of conflict prevention, e.g. the use of collective military force
m) reviewing recent developments in sanctions policy, in particular, the concept of targeted sanctions and its key element the financial sanctions with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of future sanctions regimes;
n) reviewing other developments in the context of sanctions.

3. The Collective Actions Committee/ The second Collective Measures Committee would be composed of ______ countries, representing all regional groups, which have been deeply and constructively involved in UN affairs since the organisation's founding in 1945, pay their UN assessments fully and on time and enjoy broad respect among other members.

4. The committee would have a Chairperson and four Vice-Chairpersons. Rotation principles and functions of the members of the Committee's bureau would be defined in the rules of procedure.

5. Financing of the relevant activities of the Committee and especially of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons, including their visits to the countries and regions concerned, should be covered by the UN Secretariat.

6. The membership in the committee may be widened by drawing new like-minded states into the group.



AN AMENDMENT ON A DRAFT RESOLUTION 1/1 CONCERNING THE ESTABLISHING OF A SPECIAL STANDBY FUND FOR ALL THE STATES THAT HAVE SUFFERED DAMAGES AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS AGAINST TARGETED STATES


1. Bearing in mind the negative impacts of the use of sanctions on targeted states has had on the neigbouring countries and trading partners of the targeted states, a Special Contingency Standby Fund should be established in order to remedy the negative effects of the use of sanctions promptly and effectively.

2. In concept of burden-sharing and equitable distribution all of the members of the UN would make regular contributions to this fund accordingly to the height of GDP of each of the contributing countries. These contribution would then be available as a compensation for the non-targeted countries that suffered damages as a result of the imposition of sanctions upon targeted states.

3. In order to establish the eligibility of any particular state for a compensation from this fund and to monitor the spending of the means allocated from the fund a Commission for preliminary and monitroing assessment of the negative effects of the use of sanctions on non-targeted states should be established.

4. The Commission would be comprised of experts in the field of economics.

5. The work of the commission would be supervised by the General Assembly (second committee), to which regular reports concerning the work of the commission shall be sent.

6. Any state that would consider itself eligible for a compensation from this fond, would have to make a formal complaint to the Commission stating reasons for its eligibility, providing a crude assessment of the damages suffered through the imposition of sanctions against targeted states.

7. The Commission shall have the right to establsih fact-finding missions which would be sent to the country in order to establish the validity of its claims. On the basis of the report of the fact-finding mission, the Commission shall make a proposition to the General Assembly concerning the apportion of the means from the fond to a particular country.

8. The General Assembly shall adopt the proposal after the consultation with ACABQ (Advisory committee for administrative and budgetary questions) and CPC (Co-ordination and program committe) with a qualified majority.

9. The United Nations development programmes and specialised agencies should provide emergency relief and longer term assistance to the affected third states to enable them better to cope with the social and humanitarian effects, as well as in attracting donor countries and organisations in the elaboration of projects aimed at assisting these countries to cope with the negative impact from sanctions.

View the final Resolution on the issue of Sanctions in the Adopted Resolutions Section.