A multistakeholder engagement was established in 2022 to undertake research and generate a set of voluntary principles to ensure that negative humanitarian impacts associated with sanctions and related regulations are mitigated and minimized.

The AHSR team recognizes that targeted sanctions are vital for upholding norms and promoting international peace and security. When carefully designed and implemented they can bolster diplomatic efforts and help prevent the resort to war. Yet, in many instances – and in ways similar to what led to the reform of comprehensive UN sanctions in the late 1990s – global concern has increased regarding negative unintended humanitarian impacts resulting from both autonomous and multilateral sanctions.

Over the past year, AHSR has held consultations with various stakeholders and established a core group of experts to prepare materials to discuss with practitioners and national officials. The participants of these consultations have provide valuable input, especially on ASHR’s ongoing work on three elements of the aforementioned toolkit:

1.) a checklist of humanitarian-related factors to be considered by those engaging in sanctions design and monitoring of sanctions;

2.) a code of conduct containing nonbinding principles to guide actors in the implementation of sanctions that builds on existing areas of soft and hard law in a constructive and politically-sensitive manner; and,

3.) a platform able to provide evidence-based research findings to national trisector groups and other stakeholders.

To read more about the project please reference our Concept Note.

AHSR Concept Note