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Article 41 of the United Nations Charter authorises the Security Council to take enforcement measures not involving the use of force in order to give effect to its decisions. These measures often take the form of sanctions. The range of sanctions imposed by the Security Council has included comprehensive economic and trade sanctions as well as more targeted measures such as arms embargoes, travel bans, and financial or diplomatic restrictions. Increasingly, sanctions have been targeted directly to individuals or specific political actors rather than to States as a whole.
Under article 25 of the Charter members of the United Nations have agreed to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council, and accordingly Security Council sanctions are binding on all UN member States, including New Zealand. Each Security Council sanctions regime is overseen by a Sanctions Committee, which is responsible for monitoring implementation and compliance.
Security Council sanctions are implemented in New Zealand law by regulations made under the United Nations Act 1946. This enables the Government to act promptly to impose or remove sanctions once such a decision has been taken by the Security Council.
All persons and entities in New Zealand, and in many cases New Zealand citizens and companies overseas as well, must comply with regulations implementing Security Council sanctions. It is accordingly important to seek independent legal advice before engaging in any activities that may be affected by a sanction regime.
