CIDA Photo: Roger LeMoyne

-- Mohammed, 13 years old, Basra, southern Iraq

Like armed conflict, the use of sanctions has a serious impact on the health, development and lives of children. Most people consider sanctions better than all-out war, but unless they are used carefully, sanctions can have devastating effects on the most vulnerable people in the affected country including children.

Trade restrictions cause serious shortages of many items people need to live and cause economic hardship and poverty. They also lead to the deterioration of buildings and water, sanitation and electrical power systems that are essential to health. As a result, families, and especially children, experience shortages of basic needs, hunger and malnutrition and poor health.

Sanctions are supposed to be used to repel aggression, restore democracy, condemn human rights abuses or to punish governments and groups which protect terrorists or international criminals. However, in most cases, the sanctions affect the poor, not the powerful. One solution to this problem is to use 'targeted' or 'smart' sanctions. Instead of 'comprehensive sanctions' that affect the entire population of a country, 'smart' sanctions target the political or military leaders. Examples of 'smart' sanctions include arms embargoes, freezing individual or governmental bank accounts and suspending specific types of trade, communications and air travel.

• An estimated half a million Iraqi children have died during the sanctions currently in place.
• In 1997, UNICEF completed a study on sanctions and developed a set of recommendations to protect children from harm.
• In 1998, the Inter Agency standing Committee set up a group to improve the way that the impact of sanctions is monitored.
• In 1999, the United Nations Security Council began to monitor the impact of sanction on vulnerable groups, including children.
• In 2000, the United Nations Security Council said it was willing to take action to minimize the impact of sanctions.

1. The international community should cease to impose comprehensive sanctions.
2. Sanctions must be targeted to avoid damage to vulnerable people especially women and children. Sanctions should only be imposed when it can be proven that they will not harm children.
3. When sanctions are used, they should have clear goals. The sanctions should be lifted gradually as those goals are met. No sanctions should be allowed to continue indefinitely; they should all have end dates.
4. UNICEF, the UN and NGOs should promote a set of standards to monitor the effect of sanctions on children.
5. Corporations should respect human rights and the rights of children by contributing to sanctions that are established by the international community.

Sanction = measures such as boycotts or trade embargoes used by one country or international group to put political pressure on another. The country or group under sanction is usually considered guilty of violating international law.
Embargo = an order by a government or international group that prohibits trade with a country.
Boycott = a refusal to deal with a country or international group as a protest against its actions or policies.
NGO = NGO stands for Non-Governmental Organization. An NGO is a private group or organization that provides humanitarian aid. They may work with government agencies, but they are not part of the government.