Note by the President of the Security Council
UN Security Council
(S/2000/319)
April 17, 2000
1. The members of the Security Council recall the note by the President of 29 January 1999 (S/1999/92) which contained a number of practical proposals to improve the work of the sanctions committee in accordance with the resolutions concerned.
2. The members of the Security Council note the work of the General Assembly and also note that there exists considerable recent scholarship on the subject of United nations sanctions that merits consideration by the members of the Council. In particular, they note recent efforts by Canada, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and others to sponsor specific reports and studies on aspects of Untied Nations sanctions.
3. Taking account of the note by the President of 29 January 1999 and other relevant proposals and recommendations, including those referred to in paragraph 2 above, the members of the Security Council have decided to establish on a temporary basis and informal working group of the Council to develop general recommendations on how to improve the effectiveness of United Nations sanctions. The working group should benefit from all available sanctions expertise, including by being briefed, on a case-by-case basis, by appropriate experts. The working group should report its findings to the Council by 30 November 2000,
4. The informal working group should examine, inter alia, the following issues in all aspects with a view to improving the effectiveness of sanctions:
a. working methods of sanctions committees and inter-committee coordination;
b. capacity of the United Nations Secretariat;
c. coordination within the United Nations system and cooperation with regional and other international organizations;
d. design of sanctions resolutions including the conditions for the maintaining/lifting of sanctions;
e. pre- and post-assessment reports and the ongoing evaluation of sanctions regimes;
f. monitoring and enforcement of sanctions;
g. unintended impacts of sanctions;
h. humanitarian exemptions;
i. targeted sanctions;
j. assisting members States in implementing sanctions;
k. implementation of the recommendations of the above-mentioned note by the President.
5. The members of the Security council request the Secretariat to provide the informal working group with interpretation in the six working languages of the United Nations.
