Topic: 2026 – Implementation of Sanctions
Country: South Africa
Delegate Name: Margrit Rayes
Sanctions are seen as the “last resort” when it comes to addressing mass human right violations, such as human trafficking, mass illegal drug smuggling, and other extreme scenarios. Sanctions impose diplomatic blockers that prevent nations from doing whatever it is that they would like to do. Sanctions shouldn’t be used lightly because they can extremely harm a nation if imposed, which is why it is seen as an extreme punishment. The most notable historical example of this is the infamous American oil sanction of Japan in the 1930s leading towards WW2 and to demise. Notorious examples such as those are why sanctions are not taken lightly, as Japan immediately saw the US sanction as a call to war. When sanctions are imposed leniently and without viable reason, they harm nations and therefore harm the civilians of those nations.
South Africa as a nation has its own sanctions imposed by the UN, such as the TFS act prohibiting weapons of mass destruction to be distributed, in which the punishment of breaking this act is 15 years of jail time. Although South Africa has not been directly harmed by the impacts of sanctions, as a delegation South Africa is aware and left stunned by the impacts that sanctions leave on other nations.
Even if sanctions reach their target, there is no guarantee of a change in behavior by the aggressor due to the sanction. If change doesn’t come in due time, sanctions stop becoming a punishment for the oppressor and turn into a struggle of the oppressed. The most notable example of this is seen in Iraq – The United Nations first sanctioned Iraq in August 1990 due to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. As a part of this sanction, the Security Council prohibited Iraq from buying oil or selling other commodities besides agreed upon necessities of life (food and medicine). Without intention to do so, this sanction crippled the Iraqi economy, making it almost impossible for the common man to buy bare necessities. Not only did this ruin Iraq, but Saddam Hussein continued his reign of terror on surrounding nations and his people. In situations like this, the committee has to consider who is being treated like the criminal – the offender, or the common man, who happens to live under the offender?
The committee has already discussed these issues previously, especially in regard to Al-Qaeda, and deduced Resolution 2664 of 2022. This solution ensures that any sanction being held upon a country will never impact the flow of humanitarian aid coming to the civilians by explicitly exempting sanctions having to do with the general economy/population. As the Switzerland representative states, “We must do everything in our power to ensure that aid reaches populations in need, regardless of the context or the authorities controlling their territory”. On behalf of South Africa, Resolution 2664 should be implemented to increase sanction efficiency and to avoid civilian loss.
Works Cited:
Ali, Doa. “How to Kill an Entire Country” tni, 2025
https://www.tni.org/en/article/how-to-kill-an-entire-country#:~:text=line%20(2017).-,The%20United%20Nations%20(of%20America),and%20imports%20declined%20by%2090%25.
“Weapons of Mass Destruction: U.N. Confronts Significant Challenges in Implementing Sanctions against Iraq” gao, 2002.https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-02-625#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20(UN)%20first%20imposed%20sanctions,sales**%20*%20**Changing%20the%20contract%20screening%20process**
Official Cites:
UN News, https://news.un.org/en/story/2016/05/528382-un-sanctions-what-they-are-how-they-work-and-who-uses-them#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20Security%20Council%20(UNSC)%20uses,economic%20relations%20*%20Severance%20of%20diplomatic%20relations
South African Global Sanctions, https://ezine.eversheds-sutherland.com/global-sanctions-guide/south-africa
UN Meeting Coverage and Press Releases, https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15924.doc.htm
