HOLY SEE URGES U.N. TO CHANGE ITS SANCTIONS MECHANISM

VATICAN CITY, OCT 20, 1999 (VIS) - Archbishop Renato Martino, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations, yesterday addressed the Second Committee of the General Assembly on Sustainable Development and International Economic Cooperation. He emphasized one question in sustainable development, namely, the negative effects of sanctions.

He urged the U.N. to consider changing, fine-tuning and making more just its existing mechanism for imposing economic sanctions in order to avoid some of the harsh consequences that sanctions impose on innocent populations. "The fact that the leadership of a country has imposed a threat to international peace and security and put obstacles to restoring peace, does not require that the entire population of that particular country should be brought to suffer." Citing Pope John Paul, he said: "The weak and innocent cannot pay for mistakes for which they are not responsible."

Archbishop Martino underscored that "the question of economic sanctions, in fact, constitutes one of the unfinished chapters of contemporary international law. ... Sanctions are not simply an easy way to placate an outraged public opinion. Their primary aim is not to punish, but rather to coerce the targeted government into a change of behavior." Sanctions must, he said, "observe the letter and the spirit of humanitarian law" and "should not have indiscriminate or disproportionate effects on the civilian population."

He recommended that, in the future, "the goals and objectives of sanctions be clearly defined, so that it will be possible to objectively evaluate the progress being made by the targeted nation." In addition, "detailed attention should be given ... to foresee and, where possible, avoid or mitigate possible humanitarian consequences."
"While holding fast to the principle that grave transgressions cannot be tolerated," Archbishop Martino stated in conclusion, "the Holy See appeals to the conscience of the international community and requests it to reconsider the negative consequences of the present mechanism of indiscriminate economic sanctions."

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