Sanctions

This chapter examines the most prominent forms of international organization sanctions, namely United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) sanctions. It first examines the constitutional basis, scope, and administration of UN and EU sanctions. It then compares and contrasts these two models, discussing how the interests of peace and security, on the one hand, and human rights and the rule of law, on the other, can sometimes come in­ to conflict in the application of international organization sanctions. It shows that the UN sanctions decision-making system tends to prioritize peace and security, whereas the EU sanctions decision-making system tends to prioritize the rule of law. The chapter argues that neither tradition of international organization sanctions has found the right balance, and that the ongoing contest between peace and security and the rule of law will contin­ue to shape and constrain international organization sanctions decision-making for the foreseeable future.