UN Sanctions on Specific Countries

Sanctions Against Al Qaeda

After Sept. 11, the Security Council has extended sanctions against Afghanistan to all Al-Qaeda members worldwide. Resolution 1373 constitutes the UN answer to 9/11, and it creates a uniquely international sanctions regime.

Sanctions Against Iran?

This page provides information on the debate surrounding the possibility of UN sanctions against Iran. Washington asserts that Tehran may use its uranium enrichment program to develop nuclear arms, but Iran maintains it has a right to develop peaceful nuclear energy capabilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency has called on Tehran to halt its enrichment program and threatens to bring the case before the Security Council should Iran fail to comply. Most Council members prefer talks with Tehran to resolve the issue outside of Council action.

Sanctions Against Ivory Coast

On November 15, 2004 the Security Council unanimously approved a French-led resolution imposing sanctions against Ivory Coast in response to the Ivory Coast government violation of the shaky 2003 ceasefire between the government in the south and the rebel-held north.

Sanctions Against Liberia

The Security Council has imposed "smart" sanctions against Liberia to force Monrovia to cease support immediately for the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of Sierra Leone and other armed groups in the region. The sanctions entail an arms embargo, as well as a ban on diamonds and timber and measures to prevent travel by senior members of the Government of Liberia.

Sanctions Against North Korea?

Following the 9/11 attacks in the US, Washington put North Korea on the “axis of evil” list and has since contended that North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons poses a serious threat to the world. The Bush administration considers bringing North Korea before the UN Security Council to impose economic sanctions, but China, North Korea’s main ally and trading partner, has previously indicated that it will likely veto any sanctions on Pyongyang.

Sanctions on Sudan

In response to the failure of all armed parties in Sudan to comply with previous Security Council resolutions calling fo “an immediate halt to the fighting in the Darfur region,” the Council has imposed an imposes an arms embargo on all non-governmental combatants in Darfur, including the Janjawid militias, and ordered a travel ban and a freeze on all assets for human rights violators in Sudan. The resolution does not include an oil embargo, which China would almost certainly have vetoed.

Previous UN Sanctions Regimes

The UN also imposed sanctions against Angola, Burundi, Iraq, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Former Yugoslavia, and Somalia.

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