Deploying Sanctions while Protecting Human Rights: Are Humanitarian “Smart” Sanctions Effective

Since Thucydides, diplomats, decision makers, and governments have struggled to resolve a basic dilemma. The domain of international politics lacks a central government and is thus dominated by the norm of self-help. Enforcing international law is, therefore, a task that falls back to the states, themselves. Such behavior, however, often involves the use of military force or, with increasing frequency, the use of economic sanctions. Such action often produces results that run counter to other norms, like the protection of innocents and the promotion of basic human rights that are embedded in the United Nations Charter and human rights treaties. The current debate surrounding the use of economic sanctions as a non-violent method to compel compliance and to resolve disputes embodies the challenge posed by this type of political organization. For example, the UN Secretary General notes, "It cannot be too strongly emphasized that sanctions are a tool of enforcement and, like other methods of enforcement, they will do harm" (Report of the Secretary General on the Work of the Organization 1998). That is, there seems to be an inherent trade-off between enforcing the agreed rules for conduct in the international community, and the mechanisms available to governments for such enforcement. This article explores, in greater detail, the potential tradeoffs between effective sanction policies, and the protection of human rights. First, we offer a background for understanding the debate surrounding the use of economic sanctions, and their impact on human rights. Next, the arguments of so-called 'smart' sanctions advocates are detailed. The question of effective versus moral action is then defined within the context of this debate. The data and statistical methods for exploring the nature of the trade-off are then explained. A discussion of our results follows, and the article ends with a brief evaluation of implications and our suggestions for further study