Sanctions

Sanctions are restrictions placed upon a country by another country, a group of countries, or an international organization. They vary in nature, and can be economic, political, international or trade related. Economic sanctions include trade barriers or financial restrictions, and are often imposed in an effort to encourage a country to conform to democratic ideals or uphold human rights standards. Trade sanctions arise more often as a result of trade or economic policy dispute and are usually implemented in the form of tariffs or other administrative regulations. International sanctions can be taken unilaterally or multilaterally and include, as well as economic sanctions, diplomatic sanctions (the removal of diplomatic ties or embassies), military sanctions (ranging from arms embargoes to military intervention) and sports sanctions (prohibiting a country’s athletes from competing in international events). Sanctions generally serve one or more of three purposes; enforcing compliance with international law, containing a threat to peace, or as a condemnation of actions by the sanctioned country.