Improving UN Sanctions

This week I am at the United Nations in New York on behalf of the Sanctions and Security Research Program (SSRP) as part of a training workshop on the implementation of Security Council sanctions. Co-presenting at the workshop will be sanctions experts and former practitioners Linda Gerber-Stellingwerf of the Fourth Freedom Forum, Loraine Rickard-Martin and Rico Carisch of Compliance and Capacity International, LLC, and Sue Eckert of the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. Opening the workshop will be Lynn Pascoe, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and John McNee, Permanent Representative of Canada to the UN.

The workshop is designed to generate interest and support among UN member states and senior Secretariat officials in a comprehensive program on enhancing skills for sanctions implementation and support.  The need for greater technical knowledge of sanctions implementation requirements was highlighted in our recent report for the Canadian government, Integrating UN Sanctions for Peace and Security.

Presenters will use simulations, multimedia slides, and guided participant discussions to present the material and prototype modules. Following the workshop, the materials and tools will be made available to UN staff in New York and around the world and for officials of UN member states and regional organizations.

The workshop is a major step for the sanctions research program, which is a collaboration of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Fourth Freedom Forum. For nearly twenty years we have produced cutting edge research and analysis on Security Council sanctions. Now we are being asked to provide hands-on training to decision makers and practitioners at UN headquarters and in the field. This opens new horizons for SSRP as we translate scholarly research into practical guidance for improved implementation of Security Council measures for peace and security.