INTERNATIONAL POLICY ANALYSIS| FES NEW YORK Global Threats and the Role of United Nations Sanctions ENRICO CARISCH AND LORAINE RICKARD-MARTIN December 2011 n Since their proliferation in the post-Cold War period, Security Council sanctions have never before been more widely deployed and adapted in response to global threats to peace and security than in the past year. Despite some continued skepticism, the credible use of sanctions is firmly established as the primary disincentive in the inter ­national community's conflict resolution strategy, short of the threat or use of force. n The Security Council has demonstrated over time its willingness and ability to learn, change, and adapt to existing realities. It must extend this tendency to ensuring the continued minimization of the humanitarian impact of sanctions that combine tar­geted measures with broader short-term measures as may be increasingly required by realities on the ground. n Targeted sanctions are not a panacea. Effective sanctions require coherence with other measures and are difficult to implement and monitor. They also require unity and resolve among Council members. They depend on political will and capacity among states to ensure that all divisions of their governments, including their regula­tory and supervisory agencies, lead rather than follow in carrying out their obligations. n For the sanctions tool to remain strong and credible, the Council and the Secretary­General must work together to ensure that the UN system has clear guidance on the mutual reinforcability of the various UN mandates and policies and on the skills that are needed by actors on the sanctions support and implementation chain. n Sanctions regimes can operate efficiently only when all actors, including non-state stakeholders such as the private sector fulfill their responsibilities in international peace and security. Civil society organizations have shown that they can also play a pivotal role as watchdogs and early warning systems for sanctions violators.