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II.
Implementation
The first condition for effective sanctions is that the sanctions are fully and
faithfully implemented by Member States. Sanctions applied by the Security
Council under Article 41 of the Charter of the United Nations to maintain
or restore international peace and security form an integral part of the collective security framework enshrined in the Charter. It is a condition of
membership of the United Nations to accept and carry out the Council’s
decisions relating to sanctions, as for any Council decision, according to
Article 25 of the Charter.
Yet the legally binding nature of Council sanctions is not a sufficient
condition for their effective implementation and enforcement by Member
States. The political character of sanctions can, on occasion, overshadow
their operational importance. Part A examines the potential impacts of the
political context on the perceived legitimacy of sanctions, and how well the
sanctions system makes the case for a sanctions regime, particularly to the
key stakeholders whose implementation is most determinative of the regime’s
effectiveness. The technical character of sanctions can equally pose implementation challenges in their translation into national legal systems. Part B
examines the sanctions system’s effectiveness in communicating the technical requirements of the sanctions measures to facilitate the ability of States
to comply with and enforce them.
A. Making the case for compliance
At a fundamental level, sanctions are political. The decision to apply them
to a particular situation, the choice of goods, individuals or entities targeted, and the intended outcome are all political decisions of the Council
in response to the crisis: and, of course, the crisis itself has its own political
dynamic that colours and is coloured by the sanctions. The Council needs
States who are directly affected by the crisis, but were not directly involved in
making the decisions, to cooperate with each other, and with the institutions
the Council has established to administer the sanctions, in order to achieve
the outcome intended for the sanctions.