Econoic sanctions human rights

Abstract EN

The article examines the manner in which the human rights dimension of the sanctions imposed on Iraq has been treated.

The political factors affecting how human rights issues are handled in the contemporary world order, and the implications of this for the case of Iraq, are examined first.

Attention is then given to the legal basis on which the sanctions regime can be challenged, with particular emphasis on aspects that relate to human rights.

The analysis focuses on three fields of possible challenge: the provisions of the UN Charter (and the possibility that the Security Council may, in terms of these provisions, be acting ultra vires); humanitarian law, based on the Hague Conventions and Regulations and the Geneva Conventions relating to the treatment of civilians during armed conflicts; and human rights law.

The article concludes with an assessment of whether the humanitarian and human rights dimensions constitute a viable basis on which the sanctions regime which the UN Security Council has imposed on Iraq can be contested.