Swiss present “smart sanctions” proposal to UN

Deiss said smart sanctions would punish governments which support terrorist organisations Keystone Archive

A Swiss delegation has presented to the United Nations Security Council in New York new proposals designed to improve the effectiveness of economic sanctions.

The proposal package presented on Monday consists of two parts, one of which suggests how the Security Council could give advise on finding resolutions for imposing economic sanctions.

The second part is aimed at the individual countries, assisting them in how to put the resolutions into practice.

The Swiss ambassador to the United Nations, Jenö Staehelin, said during the meeting of the Security Council that Switzerland was an important international financial centre, which had the necessary expertise regarding financial transactions.

“In order to stop the flow of money for terrorist activities it is essential to identify the ultimate creditor,” he said. Switzerland has already introduced tough rules and regulations for this.

Members of the Security Council showed appreciation of the Swiss proposal. Jean-David Levitte, the French representative, said this exemplary work should immediately be used in the search for Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect for the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Targeted sanctions

In a recent interview with the Swiss newspaper, “Le Temps”, the foreign minister, Joseph Deiss, said the “smart sanctions” would be aimed at punishing governments which support terrorist organisations without harming civilian populations.

“We need to respond to the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington,” Deiss told the paper.

Nicolas Michel, head of the international law department at the Swiss foreign ministry, said Switzerland was keen “to promote the idea of targeted sanctions”.

He refused to go into details about how the sanctions would work, but told swissinfo that they must target “specific people, groups or financial institutions”, if they are to be successful.

He added that the Swiss government believes so-called “smart sanctions” are the most efficient way of isolating individual governments without endangering the lives of civilians.

“Our idea is to re-think the philosophy of sanctions,” Deiss said.

The foreign minister also made it clear one of the key aims of the proposals is to block the financial operations of terrorist organisations.

Undesirable side effects

Michel stressed that traditional sanctions were not a solution in the global war against terrorism. “We recognise that sanctions can have undesirable effects,” he told swissinfo.

“Sometimes, for example, neighbouring states can be hit by sanctions in a way which is not desired, and our initiative aims to avoid this.”

The foreign ministry says it has received “good signs” that its proposals, which are due to be tabled at the UN jointly with the German government, will be welcomed by other countries.

Michel believes that both small and large states will be interested in working together to impose targeted sanctions in the future.

“All states seem more interested in efficient sanctions: and they appreciate that in order to be efficient, sanctions have to be targeted.”

swissinfo