Sanctions are actions taken by countries against others for political reasons, either unilaterally or multilaterally.
There are types of sanctions – Diplomatic sanctions; the reduction or removal of diplomatic ties such as embassies – economic sanctions – typically a ban on trade possibly limited to certain sectors such as armament or with certain exceptions such as food and machinery- military sanctions i.e. military intervention and sports sanction – preventing one country’s people and teams from competing in international events.
There are also more targeted measures such as arms embargo, travel bans, financial or diplomatic restrictions
Under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, the Security Council can take enforcement measures or sanctions to maintain or restore international peace and security
In most cases, the use of mandatory sanctions is essentially to apply pressure on a state or entity to comply with the objectives set by the Security Council without resorting to the use of force where such sanctions emanate from the United Nations Security Council. Indeed, the Universal Charter of the United Nations makes it especially an appropriate body to establish and monitor such measures.
Again, it evokes its enforcement tool when peace has been threatened and diplomatic efforts have failed.
Nonetheless, sanctions can equally be imposed unilaterally, for instance, the United States embargo against Cuba in 1962 but now easing.
On May 13, 1998. The United States and Japan imposed economic sanctions on India following its second round of nuclear tests. In 2001/2002 the United States imposed economic sanctions against the state of Zimbabwe through the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 restricting access to financing, debt relief, and rescheduling, forcing the Government to operate on a cash-only basis.
Well-known economic sanctions include the United Nations sanctions against South Africa, U.N sanctions against Zimbabwe, and U.N sanctions against Iraq (1990-2003).
Furthermore, since 1993 many countries have imposed trade sanctions on Burma or (Myanmar)
Although some of the countries in which sanctions have been imposed made contentious claims a great number of states and humanitarian organizations have expressed concern at the possible adverse effect of sanctions.
Surely such concerns are not out of place if one reflects on the grim picture of human suffering telecast on our electronic media, the world over and reports of the high index of horrors and death particularly by the most vulnerable population in countries where sanctions have been imposed
For instance, annual mortality rates and excess deaths of children under five (5) years in Iraq 1991-1998 by Ali, J. Blacker, and G. Jones in population studies July 2003 and based on UNICEF 1999 mortality survey estimate that 400-500,000 excess deaths occurred as a result of the imposed economic sanctions.
In Zimbabwe, the EU and U.S. sanctions imposed up to 2002 following the human rights violation as a result of the nation’s elections and its land reform policy not only weakened democracy in the country but also prevented Zimbabwe from moving forward and reaching its full potential.
The story is not different in specific countries sanctioned.
Depressing as the picture is, the sad story is that sanctions are usually attracted by despotic regimes with a deteriorating human rights trajectory, intensified by a crackdown on freedom of speech and association and arrests on trumped-up charges particularly where the government will not tolerate any serious challenge to its control of power.
More often than not all these and many more lead to the creation of armed opposition and invariably threaten peace and stability.
And what all this translates to is that the common man or the vulnerable population mostly women and children bears the harsh effect of economic sanctions while the elite political class maintains their grip on power.
It is against this consideration that one calls for a total review of the use of sanctions as an effective diplomatic tool to make countries with repressive governments change.
Indeed, comprehensive economic sanctions are not the most effective way of effecting a regime change rather, their use is said to hurt business and inflict suffering on the people in the specified countries sanctioned. Therefore, in place of comprehensive economic sanction the United Nations of the E.U. as the case may be can adopt targeted measures such as travel bans, and financial or diplomatic restrictions.
Put differently they can adopt smart sanctions, which will affect only the elite of the repressive regime by freezing their assets in foreign banks and banning their travel overseas. and restricting their children from going to study abroad and even embarrassing them overseas so that they will be identified as pariahs.
To say the least as people who have refused to conform with the new world order, a world order that builds on shared understanding and inspires us to trust in the optimism that defines us as God’s creation with renewed hope of employing and enjoying our civilization.
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