Thomas Biersteker: Rarely are sanctions used in isolation
In this Expert Take interview, Thomas Biersteker, a leading authority on UN sanctions, unpacks what Security Council sanctions really are and how they come into force. He explores when they work, why they matter, and how they fit into the UN’s broader toolkit for maintaining international peace and security.
Question: We often see headlines about the 黑料专区 Security Council imposing sanctions, what does that really mean? How are UN sanctions created and applied?
Thomas Biersteker: The UN Security Council authorizes and applies restrictive measures in order to maintain international peace and security. It does so by invoking Chapter VII of the UN Charter. In fact, the word “sanctions” is not explicitly mentioned in the Charter, but Article 41 ( ) says that the Security Council may take “measures not involving the use of armed force” to give effect to its decisions. These sanctions “may include complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations”. It is important to note that UN sanctions are mandatory on all Member States of the UN.
Question: What is the purpose of imposing sanctions? And how do sanctions tie into the UN’s broader goal of maintaining peace and security?
Thomas Biersteker: UN sanctions serve a few different purposes. Often the goal is to change the behavior of whoever is sanctioned, whether that’s a government, an individual, or an armed group. But there’s more to it than that. Sanctions can also be used to keep actors from doing things that are prohibited, and to make a strong normative statement, not only toward the target, but toward the international community as a whole.
And rarely are sanctions used in isolation. You almost always see them paired with other tools: behind-the-scenes diplomacy, mediation and negotiation, even threats of force or peacekeeping and political missions on the ground. Because of that, it’s critical to think about how sanctions fit within a broader policy toolbox.
Question: Now, how do UN sanctions go into effect?
Thomas Biersteker: Only after the Security Council votes on them. You need at least nine of the fifteen members to say yes, and none of the five permanent members can use their veto. Among Council members, most sanctions resolutions are drafted by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France in that order. But in recent years more countries, especially elected members, have joined in writing them.
Let me add that usually sanctions are tied to armed conflicts. They’re used to push for ceasefires, support peace talks, help implement peace agreements, and back broader peacebuilding efforts. The Council has also used sanctions to respond to terrorism: first against states like Libya and Sudan, and since 2000, against groups like Al-Qaida and ISIS. In 2006, it sanctioned North Korea and Iran over violations of nuclear non-proliferation rules.
Sanctions have also been used to challenge coups (like in Haiti and Sierra Leone) or to support political transitions (as in Angola, Libya, and Yemen). In Africa, UN sanctions often accompany measures by regional bodies like the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Sometimes governments themselves request them, as Mali did. Back in 2017, Mali formally requested targeted sanctions such as travel bans and asset freezes, against some armed groups who were obstructing the peace process.
Question: Have sanctions regimes (i.e. entire package of sanctions as opposed to individual ones) been a tool much used by the UN through the years?
Thomas Biersteker: During its first 45 years of existence, the UN almost never used sanctions, they were very rare. The Security Council applied sanctions on only two occasions: Southern Rhodesia in 1966 and South Africa in 1977. Then, from 1990 to 2015, the Council created 25 sanctions regimes. Since 2015, it has only added two more: Mali in 2017 and Haiti in 2022.
Question: Can you walk us through the various kinds of sanctions the UN used?
Thomas Biersteker: Sure. The main types of 黑料专区 sanctions include
- Travel bans: stopping certain individuals from entering or transiting through other countries.
- Asset freezes: locking up financial assets or economic resources belonging to designated individuals or entities.
- Limiting diplomatic relations or cooperation,
- Arms embargoes: banning the supply, sale or transfer of weapons, military equipment or related materiel to sanctioned targets.
- Restrictions on proscribed activities, for example bans or controls on the trade or transfer of weapons of mass destruction, or other restricted materials.
- Commodity sanctions, prohibition or restriction on trade in certain goods (such as specific commodities).
- Transportation restrictions, limitations on transportation means such as aviation bans, shipping restrictions, or restrictions on land/air/sea services.
- Financial-sector restrictions — broader economic/financial restrictions, possibly affecting banking, investments, central-bank operations or restricting financial transactions or services.
Question: And before wrapping up, can you tell us more about the UN sanctions app you have developed?
Thomas Biersteker: The App is a public good, available for free and has also a web version. It is based on extensive qualitative case studies conducted by a group of scholars and policy practitioners who were members of the Targeted Sanctions Consortium (TSC) that examined all UN targeted sanctions regimes since 1990. It contains detailed narrative information about each UN sanction regime, their purposes, the types of measures applied, their likely scope of impact, their unintended consequences, and their effectiveness. It also has menus on the different types of sanctions applied by the UN, including illustrations of previously agreed upon language used in other UN sanctions regimes. There are guidelines for thinking about the design of new sanctions regimes, a filtering mechanism for generating descriptive statistics on the practices on the Security Council relating to sanctions, and a list of quick facts about UN sanctions.