New North Korea sanctions monitoring team faces ‘legitimacy’ challenges: report
A new Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (‘MSMT’), created outside the United Nations framework to track North Korea sanctions violations, faces significant challenges to its effectiveness and legitimacy, according to an analysis published by Australian think tank Lowy Institute on 18 March.
The 11-country coalition — comprising the G7 countries us Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and South Korea — held its first meeting in Washington DC last month after Russia vetoed the continuation of the official UN monitoring panel last year.
‘This case signals a potential trend, where the dysfunction of UN multilateral sanctions mechanisms may lead to unilateral efforts to monitor sanctions regimes,’ writes analyst Nika Pasko, noting Russia’s veto came after it began importing weapons from North Korea for use in Ukraine.
The formation of the MSMT ‘could become a model for similar stand-offs in future if the UNSC negotiations on other sanctions regimes end in a deadlock,’ according to the analysis, titled ‘Monitoring without mandate: Can sanctions succeed outside a UN framework?’
It cautions that the lack of UN legitimacy means other countries may disregard the group’s findings, while enforcement of violations will be difficult without UN backing. The analysis suggests that potential secondary sanctions imposed in response to MSMT findings ‘could fuel anti-Western sentiment,’ particularly ‘among states with economic ties to sanctioned countries.’
To overcome these limitations, the report recommends broader coalition-building with developing countries, which ‘are often exoited as jurisdictions for illicit activities by sanctioned states, making their cooperation crucial.’
The analysis also calls for monitoring bodies to consider more flexible sanctions review mechanisms to mitigate negative impacts on ordinary citizens and humanitarian organisations. ‘It is crucial to mitigate the impact of sanctions on ordinary citizens, otherwise people can become convinced that sanctioning countries are responsible for economic hardships,’ the report concludes.
