FIDH deplores the fact that the 1267 Security Council Committee, in spite of the calls of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and others, has failed to ensure fair, equitable and transparent procedures, thereby seriously undermining both the efficiency of the sanctions, which have been challenged before national and regional courts, and the legitimacy of the Security Council in listing and delisting individuals without any kind of independent review or uniformly applied standards.
Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President, explains in the letter: “The effectiveness and credibility of the sanctions mechanism depends primarily on its independence, neutrality, and fairness, and on effective recourse to delisting and effective remedies. The serious and punitive consequences of the sanctions taken by the 1267 Committee, directly targeting individuals and not States, must imply a balanced process that is not solely political, but that is based on due process rights as recognized under international law and the United Nations itself.”
Initially conceived as preventive measures, targeted sanctions often turn into permanent punitive sanctions, and even sometimes have direct criminal consequences. The freezing of assets impacts on the right to private property, and a whole range of other related rights. The travel restrictions may impact on the right to health should a treatment need to be sought abroad, on the right to life or to be free from torture, should an individual risk repression in his country of origin. The Committee provides for humanitarian exemptions, but individuals listed are rarely aware or properly notified of their availability. As to delisting, it can only occur with the unanimity of all members of the Committee, which often includes the designating State itself. Ultimately, there is no effective remedy available for individuals who were wrongly listed, or whose human rights were violated as a result of their inclusion on such lists.
In its Open Letter, FIDH appeals to the UN Security Council to vote for incremental changes that can be achieved starting from within the existing mandate of the Committee. FIDH’s recommendations include, among others:
– Making statements of cases and basis for listing (redacted when necessary) public.
– To maximize the chances of reaching and therefore notifying targeted persons, a UN liaison should assist the State of citizenship or residency in reaching to listed individuals or entities to notify them of having been added to the list, of the reasons for it, and of the available procedures for humanitarian exemptions and delisting.
– Further detailed criteria, evidentiary standards and norms must be thoroughly and uniformly applied by all Members of the Committee when adding names to the list, under the supervision of the Committee’s Secretariat.
– Guarantee to the listed individual or non-state entity the right to present a submission, the right to be heard, and the right to challenge facts and evidence.
– An independent review panel composed of experts must be established to impartially analyze all delisting requests and provide effective remedies when justified.
The open letter is available at : http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/open-letter-security-council.pdf