Sanctions

The Government supports the use of targeted sanctions to coerce regimes,

individuals and groups into changing their unacceptable behaviour.

Sanctions regimes can be imposed by the UN and the EU. The UN imposes
sanctions where circumstances are deemed to constitute a threat to
international peace and security. The EU, acting autonomously from the UN,
can also impose sanctions for these reasons but more often they are imposed
to encourage respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The
measures most frequently take the form of asset freezes, targeted trade
embargoes and travel restrictions.

In 2010 we supported UN and EU sanctions regimes in 20 countries. Some

of the sanctions regimes in place are in response to human rights abuses and
post electoral instability, such as Belarus, Burma, the Republic of Guinea and
Zimbabwe. The measures in place in Burma specifically prevent EU
companies financing enterprises that are owned or controlled by the ruling
body or by persons associated with the regime. Restrictive measures are
also in place to prevent imports, exports and investments in Burmese timber,
gemstones and precious metals.

Sanctions are not always explicitly invoked to respond to human rights

abuses. For example, during 2010 sanctions were imposed on Cote d’Ivoire
to sustain the ceasefire and encourage national reconciliation. The measures
included a ban on rough diamond exports in order to disrupt the links between
the rough diamond trade and conflict in West Africa. In Liberia, sanctions
have been in place since 2003 to promote respect for the cease-fire and to
encourage the responsible use of government revenue to benefit the people
of the country.

In Iran, in addition to the UN sanctions, the EU also decided to implement an

autonomous sanctions package targeted at trade, finance, transport and the
Iranian energy sector to prevent the development of Iran’s nuclear
programme. During 2011 a number of EU and UN sanctions regimes will be
renewed in countries including Moldova, Belarus, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (DRC), and Cote d’Ivoire. EU discussion has begun on how to
ensure that the sanctions regimes in Zimbabwe, Burma and Iran remain
robust.