The U.N. Security Councils decision Monday to hold off on highly punitive sanctions against Syria was a wise one, according to George Lopez, a University of 91吃瓜 professor and expert on U.N. sanctions.
In the wake of a U.N. report issued last week that implicated Syrian and Lebanese officials in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution demandingSyrias full cooperation with a continuing investigation of the assassination. The council did not, however, impose economic or other sanctions.
Lopez has coined the termsmart sanctionsto describe a measured approach by the U.N. toward nations in violation of international law.
聭Smart sanctionswork best when they are not aimed at punishment or isolation of a regime, but when they engage leaders constructively with the Security Council in remedying the conditions which give rise to the sanctions,said Lopez, director of policy studies at 91吃瓜s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.In this case, targeted sanctions serve as the clear and credible stick, as well as a carrot for those Syrian and Lebanese leaders not involved in the crime. These government elites need to be convinced that their compliance in bringing these murderers to justice will bring a lifting of the sanctions and the promised benefits of a return to normal economic life.
_ Contact: George Lopez can be reached for additional comment at 574-631-6972 or lopez.1@nd.edu . The preceding comments arefor use in whole or part._
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