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Back to the Future: The Non-Proliferation Cases of Iran, North Korea and R2P Sanctions on Libya

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The Evolution of UN Sanctions

Abstract

UN sanctions implementation practices have advanced as a result of various reforms, but but are currently applied mostly on failed or failing states and asymmetric opponents. Once targeted on well-organized, sophisticated governments or very affluent groups and entities, UN sanctions culture is insufficiently resilient to prevail against far more formidable violators of international norms. The required escalating sophistication of the sanctions regimes on Iran , North Korea, or Qaddafi ’s Libya stretch the technical capacities of many states and frustrate policy-makers around the world. They also require political will and unity of purpose whereas time and again, disunity among the powerful states undermines their effectiveness. Our research and analysis for each of the following case studies show that at their inception sanctions were thwarted and turned into wedge issues by self-interested big power politics. With the international community barely able to muster a semblance of political of cooperation on sanctions and often divided on other options including mediation - the Iran case being the notable exception -  neither the Libya nor DPRK regime offers any reason for optimism.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Samuel Ramani of the Washington Post explained the term as follows: “In 1962, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK ) committed itself to “all-fortressization ,” hyper-militarization and nuclear weapons development that would enable the country to defend itself from any U.S. and South Korean aggression without help from the Soviets or Chinese.”; Washington Post, 18 February 2016.

  2. 2.

    UNSC S/1Res/1718/2006, Preamble.

  3. 3.

    UNSC S/RES/1718, para. 8.

  4. 4.

    UNSC S/RES/1718, para 6.

  5. 5.

    UNSC S/RES/1718, para. 8 (a) iii.

  6. 6.

    Lopez , pp. 6–7.

  7. 7.

    Lopez , p. 7.

  8. 8.

    UNSC S/RES/1874 (12 Jun. 2009), para. 9.

  9. 9.

    UNSC S/RES/1874, para. 10.

  10. 10.

    UNSC S/RES/1874, paras. 11–12.

  11. 11.

    UNSC S/RES/1874, paras. 14–15.

  12. 12.

    UNSC S/RES/1874, para. 17.

  13. 13.

    UNSC S/RES/1874, paras. 19–20.

  14. 14.

    UNSC S/RES/1874, para. 32.

  15. 15.

    UNSC S/RES/2087, para. 19.

  16. 16.

    Resolution 1718 , para. 8 (a) ii offers the first definition of what would eventually be known as the “Catch-All Provision.”

  17. 17.

    Paragraph 9 of Resolution 2087 (2013) is the definitive definition for the “Catch-All Provision.”

  18. 18.

    UNSC S/RES/2094 paras. 7, 20, and 22.

  19. 19.

    UNSC S/RES/2094, paras. 11 and 14.

  20. 20.

    UNSC S/RES/2094, para. 10.

  21. 21.

    UNSC S/RES/2094, para. 18.

  22. 22.

    UNSC S/RES/2094, para. 24.

  23. 23.

    This announcement is no longer accessible in the archive of the multilanguage website of KCNA. See: http://www.kcna.kp/kcna.user.home.retrieveHomeInfoList.kcmsf.

  24. 24.

    Bajoria and Xu (2013).

  25. 25.

    Squassoni (2006), p. 3.

  26. 26.

    For a fuller discussion of the meaning of “Spirit of Vienna,” see a speech by IAEA Deputy Director General David Waller, Atoms for Peace: A perspective from the IAEA ; https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/statements/atoms-peace-perspective-iaea (Accessed 2016, September 25).

  27. 27.

    For the US perspective, see the account by its UN Permanent Representative John Bolton in Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations. July 1, 2008 Simon and Schuster, 140 ff.

  28. 28.

    The IAEA has signed “Additional Protocols” with well over 120 states. The Islamic Republic of Iran that signed it on 18 December 2003, but it was never put into force.

  29. 29.

    UNSC S/RES/1696, paras. 7–8.

  30. 30.

    As a sign of Russia’s connections to Iran, during the drafting of the first sanctions resolution Russia removed reference to the Bushehr reactor. Katz, p. 5.

  31. 31.

    UNSC S/RES/1737, para. 3.

  32. 32.

    Identical to the DPRK sanctions, the same non-proliferation instruments were applied as the basis to define restrictions on proliferation items, equipment, and technology, the Security Council referenced existing definitional non-proliferation instruments:

    • Restricted Nuclear Goods, Commodities, and Technologies, published by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG ).

    • Nuclear-Related Dual Use Equipment, Material, Software, and Related Technologies, published by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG ).

    • List of Items, Materials, Equipment, Goods, and Technology Related to Ballistic Missile Programs, issued by the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR ).

    • List of Chemical and Biological Items, Materials, Equipment, Goods, and Technologies Related to Other Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs, issued by the Australia Group.

  33. 33.

    End use or end user refers to the final person who will receive and/or use an item, good, service, funds, etc. UNSC S/RES/1737, para. 5.

  34. 34.

    UNSC S/RES/1737, para. 12.

  35. 35.

    UNSC S/RES/1737, paras. 10 and 17.

  36. 36.

    IAEA Report GOV/2007/8 paras. 14, 26-29.

  37. 37.

    For instance, Qatar and South Africa were two member states that had expressed strong concerns about using sanctions. UNSC S/PV.5647 (24 Mar. 2007), p. 134.

  38. 38.

    UNSC S/RES/1747 Annex. II.

  39. 39.

    UNSC S/RES/1747, para. 7.

  40. 40.

    See IAEA GOV/2007/22 (23 May 2007); IAEA GOV/2007/48 (30 Aug. 2007).

  41. 41.

    IAEA Report GOV/2007/48.

  42. 42.

    Meier, pp. 10-11.

  43. 43.

    IAEA GOV/2007/58 paras. 39–43.

  44. 44.

    Indonesia, which cited Iran ’s cooperation with the IAEA as a positive move, did not agree to additional sanctions and abstained from voting. UNSC SC/9268 (3 Mar. 2008); UNSC S/RES/1803 (3 March 2008).

  45. 45.

    UNSC S/RES/1803, paras. 10–11.

  46. 46.

    Meier, pp. 12–13.

  47. 47.

    UNSC S/RES/1929 paras. 8 and 10.

  48. 48.

    UNSC S/RES/1929, para. 9.

  49. 49.

    UNSC S/RES/1929, paras. 7, 11–13.

  50. 50.

    UNSC S/RES/1929, paras. 11–13.

  51. 51.

    UNSC S/RES/1929, para. 21.

  52. 52.

    UNSC S/RES/1929, para. 22.

  53. 53.

    UNSC S/RES/1929, paras. 23–24.

  54. 54.

    The website is separated from all other sanctions regime websites and can be found here: http://www.un.org/en/sc/2231/ (Accessed 2017, February 10).

  55. 55.

    Previously adopted Resolution 1975 on Côte d’Ivoire had already reminded the government of President Gbagbo, after its

    electoral defeat, of the “primary responsibility of each State to protect civilians.”

  56. 56.

    The Responsibility to Protect , sometimes abbreviated as R2P or RtoP, is a principle that emerged from the 2005 World Summit as a commitment by the international community to act preventively against potential genocide , war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. After its first use in the context of Libya , its application as part of UN sanctions practices is uncertain however, as, for example, the conflict in Syria , South Sudan, or Yemen seems to demonstrate.

  57. 57.

    Because Qaddafi’s threatened assault on the resistance in Benghazi was averted by the NATO military intervention, the question can only be evaluated on circumstantial evidence. For a brief discussion of this question, see, for example, Foreign Policy, David Bosco; Was there going to be a Benghazi massacre? 7 April 2011.

  58. 58.

    UNSC SC/10180, AFR/2120 (22 February 2011).

  59. 59.

    UNSC S/Res/1970/2011, paras. 4–8.

  60. 60.

    UNSC S/Res/1970/2011, paras. 9–25.

  61. 61.

    UNSC S/Res/1970/2011, paras. 12–13.

  62. 62.

    Vira and Cordesman, p. 10.

  63. 63.

    UNSC S/Res/1973/2011, para. 8.

  64. 64.

    UNSC S/RES/1973, paras. 1 and 4.

  65. 65.

    UNSC S/RES/1973, paras. 13 and 16.

  66. 66.

    UNSC S/RES/1973, paras. 17 and 18.

  67. 67.

    UNSC S/RES/1973, paras. 19, 22, and 23.

  68. 68.

    UNSC S/RES/1973, para. 24.

  69. 69.

    Vira and Cordesman, p. 47.

  70. 70.

    Vira and Cordesman, pp. 63–64.

  71. 71.

    UNSC S/RES/2009, para. 12.

  72. 72.

    UNSC S/RES/2009, para. 13.

  73. 73.

    UNSC S/RES/2009, paras. 14–16

  74. 74.

    UNSC S/RES/2009, paras. 20–21.

  75. 75.

    UNSC S/RES/2016, paras. 5–6.

  76. 76.

    UNSC S/RES/2017, para. 3.

  77. 77.

    PoE Report S/2012/163 Sub-Chapter E. Impact of proliferation of arms in the region.

  78. 78.

    UNSC S/2012/163, Section VI. C and VII. A.

  79. 79.

    UNSC S/RES/2040, para. 8.

  80. 80.

    See, for example, Security Council Report: Interactive Dialogue with the ICC Prosecutor. 2013; or The Guardian: International Criminal Court backs Libyan trial of spy chief Al Senussi. 24 July 2014 (Accessed 2017, January 5).

  81. 81.

    PoE S/2013/99, paras. 30–35.

  82. 82.

    UNSC S/RES/2095, paras. 9–12.

  83. 83.

    UNSC S/RES/2095, para. 13.

  84. 84.

    UNSC S/RES/2144, paras. 7–9.

  85. 85.

    For instance, see “Libya warns will destroy tankers illegally exporting oil,” <http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/26/uk-libya-oil-tanker-idUKBRE97P0VV20130826> or “UN authorizes return of illegal Libyan oil exports” < http://bigstory.ap.org/article/un-authorizes-return-illegAl libyan-oil-exports>.

  86. 86.

    UNSC S/RES/2146, paras. 5–9.

  87. 87.

    UNSC S/RES/2146, para. 10.

  88. 88.

    UNSC S/Res/2146/2014, para. 15.

  89. 89.

    UNSC S/Res/2214/2015, para. 2.

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Carisch, E., Rickard-Martin, L., Meister, S.R. (2017). Back to the Future: The Non-Proliferation Cases of Iran, North Korea and R2P Sanctions on Libya. In: The Evolution of UN Sanctions. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60005-5_14

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