North Korea's persistent illegal proliferation of nuclear armaments and related ballistic missile delivery systems has triggered an unprecedented alliance of the United States, China and other major and lesser world powers in the use of sanctions. The UN Security Council, which bears responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, has wisely eschewed the use of force and instead has chosen sanctions in its efforts toward a negotiated outcome. Perhaps encouraged by recent progress in the denuclearization of Iran's military programs, the Security Council is hopeful that a peaceful sanctions-supported strategy will also prevail in this case.
While the sanctions on North Korea are far-reaching and affect virtually every aspect of international commerce, the situation with Iran is complex for "good" reasons. The dismantlement of the Iran sanctions is proportionate to Iran's dismantling of its illegal proliferation program over the coming 8 to 10 years. Those with sanctions implementation responsibilities need to see past the false media rhetoric that claims that Iran sanctions are null and void.
This handbook sets the record straight with rich analyses of implementation requirements, the complexities of true sanctions fulfillment - all in support of the overarching aspiration to avoid the far more taxing deployment of military force with its steep toll in blood and treasure.
The first step in effective UN sanctions implementation is to be informed, to base assessments on factual information rather than speculation. To address the information deficit among pundits, journalists, academics, politicians and many others, the authors of the Practitioner's Compliance Handbook offer very detailed pragmatic best practices guidance for the implementation of all UN sanctions. The Handbook describes the workings of embargoes against conventional and unconventional arms, dual use equipment and arcane catch-all provisions. The book also explains how the UN's individual travel ban and asset freezes work and what must be done to be in full compliance with these powerful measures. Finally, the ban on the export of luxury items to North Korea, the newest addition to the UN's sanctions toolkit - is fully explored.
The second half of the book draws together many years of observations of successful and less effective structures that states and corporations put into place to implement sanctions. Integrating these insights into a practical, top-down description of a fully functioning implementation organization for states and corporations is an exclusive and new contribution to the sanctions literature.
These informative sections are greatly enhanced with 10 illustrated typographies of sanctions violations, drawn from actual cases that have been uncovered in recent years. For those in governments and corporations with responsibilities to implement sanctions, the diverse and sophisticated mechanisms with which sanctions busters operate will be an eye-opening experience, also because the authors link these examples with related international legal instruments. The special chapter: Sanctions violations and the applicability of UN conventions for better controls, by guest author Professor Nikos Passas, specialist on international criminology and corruption, further explores the intersection between sanctions and international law.
