1 Executive summary Background In May 2014, Australia, Finland, Germany, Greece, and Sweden launched the High Level Review (HLR) of UN Sanctions to consider ways of updating and strengthening the implementation of sanctions. As part of the UN��s collective security framework, sanctions are utilised with increasing regularity to address a growing diversity of threats to international peace and security, including terrorism, WMD proliferation, human rights violations and atrocities, sexual and gender-based violence, and protection of civilians and peacekeepers in armed conflict, serving preventative and protective roles. Effectively implemented Security Council sanctions can and do play a critical role in promoting peace and security. In parallel with progress and innovation in the design and application of UN sanctions, the range of sanctions implementation actors is expanding as well, to include today in addition to Member States, an increasing number of UN system agencies, technical international organizations, the private sector and civil society plus regional and sub-regional organizations—all participating to enhance the effectiveness of this Charter instrument. In partnership with the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs of Brown University and Compliance and Capacity Skills International, LLC, three working groups of the HLR, consisting of many Member States and other UN system stakeholders, engaged in broad consultations to assess UN sanctions and develop practical options to enhance sanctions implementation. The result of the six-month intensive study, the Compendium of the High Level Review of UN Sanctions, is an amalgamation of the working groups’ findings and recommendations. The following summary highlights themes addressed through the development of 150 specific recommendations resulting from the HLR process. Enhance awareness of sanctions Greater awareness of the purposes and requirements of sanctions regimes within the UN, the international community, affected regions, and the public, are necessary so they can be better understood, properly implemented,