(Washington DC) — The United Nations Security Council has passed a legally binding resolution to provide a “humanitarian carve-out” — a standing humanitarian exemption — to the asset freeze measures imposed by UN sanctions regimes.
Once implemented, the resolution should significantly assist humanitarian action in many parts of the world.
Daniel Speckhard, CEO of Corus International, welcomed the adoption of the resolution.
"It's a watershed decision with potentially far-reaching implications for efforts to safeguard humanitarian assistance in numerous crises worldwide,” Speckhard said. “The resolution will remove a critical roadblock to the extension of lifesaving work where it’s most needed."
Humanitarian organizations have long expressed the unintended consequences of sanctions regimes.
"While UN sanctions are not intended to impact the delivery of humanitarian assistance negatively, recent history shows that in practice, they have negatively affected our ability to support those most in need," Speckhard said.
The document protects humanitarian activities from all current and future financial prohibitions established by UN sanctions regimes, helps reconcile UN sanctions regimes with key obligations of international humanitarian law (IHL), and ensures that future sanctions on regimes are designed and implemented in conformity with IHL.
"We applaud the members of the Security Council on the adoption of this important resolution and trust that it will have a positive impact on the lives of those most in need at a time when the number of people requiring humanitarian aid has doubled in the last four years,” Speckhard said.
For more information, please contact:
Muhammad Tahir,
Sr. Media Relations Manager, Corus International
@email