NOTE BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SECURITY
COUNCIL: WORK OF THE SANCTIONS COMMITTEES
Attachment B
I.
The President of the Security Council wishes to state that all
members of the Security Council have indicated their agreement
that the following practical proposals will be used to improve
the work of the sanctions committees in accordance with the resolutions
concerned.1. The sanctions committees should establish appropriate
arrangements and channels of communication with organs, organisations
and bodies of the United Nations system, as well as other intergovernmental
and regional organisations, neighbouring countries and other countries
and parties concerned, in order to improve the monitoring of the
implementation of sanctions regimes and the assessment of their
humanitarian consequences on the population of the target state
and their economic consequences on neighbouring and other states.2.
The Chairpersons of the sanctions committees should make visits
to the regions concerned, as appropriate, in order to obtain first-hand
accounts of the impact of sanctions regimes and the results and
difficulties in their implementation.3. Member States should provide
the sanctions committees with all information available on alleged
violations of arms embargoes, and other sanctions regimes. Sanctions
committees should seek to clarify all cases of alleged violations.4.
The Secretariat should be requested to provide the sanctions committees
with information from published sources, radio, television or
other media concerning alleged violations of the sanctions regimes
or other issues relevant to the activities of the committees.5.
The guidelines of the sanctions committees should include clear
provision for strict action to be taken by the committees on alleged
violations of the sanctions regimes.6. The sanctions committees
should, as far as possible, harmonise their guidelines and routines
of work.7. The technical effectiveness of the mandatory measures
should be periodically assessed by the sanctions committees on
the basis of inputs from Member States, reports prepared by the
Secretariat and other available sources of information.8. The
practice of hearing technical presentations of information by
organisations assisting in the enforcement of Security Council
sanctions during closed meetings of the sanctions committees should
be continued. The target or affected countries, as well as concerned
organisations, should be better able to exercise the right of
explaining or presenting their points of view to the sanctions
committees, while taking fully into consideration current committee
practices. The presentations should be expert and comprehensive.9.
The Secretariat should be requested to provide, whenever necessary,
its assessment of the humanitarian and economic impact of sanctions
to the sanctions committees.10. Periodic meetings of the sanctions
committees should be held for discussions on the humanitarian
and economic impact of sanctions.11. The sanctions committees
should monitor, throughout the sanctions regime, the humanitarian
impact of sanctions on vulnerable groups, including children,
and make required adjustments of the exemption mechanisms to facilitate
the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The indicators for assessment
developed by the Secretariat could be used by the committees.12.
The sanctions committees should consider and monitor the possible
impact of sanctions on the diplomatic efforts towards implementing
Security Council resolutions and make required adjustments on
the exemption mechanisms as appropriate.13. In discharging their
mandates, the sanctions committees should as much as possible
seek to utilise the expertise and practical assistance of Member
States, United Nations agencies, regional organisations and all
humanitarian and other relevant organisations.14. United Nations
agencies as well as humanitarian organisations and other relevant
organisations should benefit from special, simplified procedures
in requesting humanitarian exemptions, in order to facilitate
the implementation of their humanitarian programmes.15. Consideration
should be given to how humanitarian organisations could have the
possibility to apply for humanitarian exemptions directly to the
sanctions committees.16. Foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and medical
supplies should be exempted from United Nations sanctions regimes.
Basic or standard medical and agricultural equipment and basic
or standard educational items should also be exempted. Consideration
should be given to the drawing up of lists for that purpose. Other
essential humanitarian goods should be considered for exemption.
In this regard, it is recognised that efforts should be made to
allow the population of the targeted countries to have access
to appropriate resources and procedures for financing humanitarian
imports.17. Sanctions committees should consider ways to ensure
that exemptions to sanctions regimes on religious grounds be made
more effective.18. The transparency of the sanctions committees'
work should be increased, inter alia, through substantive
and detailed briefings by the Chairpersons.19. Summary records
of the sanctions committees' formal meetings should be made available
promptly.20. Public information on the sanctions committees' work
should be made available on the Internet and other means of communication.II.
The members of the Council will continue their consideration of
ways to improve the work of the sanctions committee.
UN Security Council
29 January 1999
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