U.N. measure offers legal protection for aid in sanctioned regimes

Humanitarian organizations gained an important new tool with the passage of a U.N. Security Council resolution that creates a standing exemption to the U.N.'s asset freeze measures.

The 15-nation council on Friday approved the resolution, co-drafted by Ireland and the United States, in a 14-0 vote from which India abstained on the grounds that terrorist groups might be able to misuse it to raise funds and recruit fighters.

The resolution says humanitarian funds, goods and services do not violate U.N. asset freezes in sanctioned regimes. It specifically includes al-Qaida and Islamic State militant extremists, but only for two years before an extension can be made.

Humanitarian aid providers, however, must make "reasonable efforts to minimize the accrual of any benefits" that sanctioned people or entities might gain from this resolution's "humanitarian carve-out," according to U.N. officials.

Proponents said its passage is critical with 339 million people in need of humanitarian aid and nearly 50 million people on the verge of famine worldwide.

U.S. officials described it as a critical step to ensure that the delivery of food, medicine and other humanitarian aid is unimpeded while robust sanctions remain in place. The resolution also includes reporting requirements that are intended to act as safeguards against abuse by detecting and mitigating possible aid diversion.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield described it as a fix for cases when sanctions "unintentionally make aid more difficult to deliver" to those who need it.

"Years of experience have taught us a valuable lesson: Speed saves lives. Humanitarians need to act fast to get medicines to a community in need. To get a roof over the heads of freezing people, and to get food to starving children," Thomas-Greenfield told reporters after the council's vote.

"Now, we have removed significant impediments," she said. "When the funds are there, and the humanitarian actors are ready, they can spring into action. They can and will save more lives – all around the globe."

Cutting through red tape

Ireland's Ambassador Fergal Mythen said the resolution deals "systematically with the unintended or unintended humanitarian consequences of U.N. sanctions regimes" in more than a dozen nations across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

"We know this can sound a bit abstract or technical at times, but simply put, if lifesaving provisions cannot be shipped, cannot be financed, cannot be insured, cannot be delivered – humanitarians cannot help," said Mythen. "And if humanitarians cannot help, the result is human suffering, hunger, and even death, which is why we had to act."

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies welcomed the resolution, saying it would facilitate their efforts to give life-saving support to people in the most fragile and vulnerable places.

“This landmark resolution is critical in that it helps to reduce the needs of millions of people impacted by the multiple ongoing crises around the world," said IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain.

But now, he added, nations must "give effect to this exemption in their domestic systems, so that humanitarian actors can scale up support to communities where needs are and in particular in situations where U.N. sanctions apply."

CARE International, which had called for this kind of exemption for more than a decade, said it was a "historic step" that's critically needed as the world faces its biggest food crisis in modern history, with at  least 222 million people in 53 nations expected to face acute food insecurity – the immediate threat of dying from not having enough to eat – and to need urgent assistance by the end of this year.

The organization's U.N. representative, Vaness Jackson, said the resolution will significantly lower legal, administrative and practical hurdles.

“The exemption will bring a more uniform and predictable approach, applicable to all contexts where sanctions regimes exist, aiding clarity, reducing risks on humanitarians and, most importantly, enabling us to assist people amid humanitarian crises faster and better," she said. "This is especially important for high-risk groups including women, children, older people and those living with disabilities."