"UN expert launches Guiding Principles on Sanctions, Business and Human Rights," 25 February 2025

The Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures and human rights, Alena Douhan, today announced the publication of the finalised versions of Guiding Principles on Sanctions, Business and Human Rights and a Commentary thereto.

“The Guiding Principles aim to reveal the nature and scope of the multifaceted challenges resulting from the implementation of sanctions of the UN Security Council, the use of unilateral sanctions by States and regional organisations, as well as the use of various means of sanctions’ enforcement and over-compliance,” Douhan said.

The expert noted that the Guiding Principles and their Commentary explain how existing international legal standards shall be applied in the context of sanctions; remind States of their responsibility to abide by and uphold international human rights standards; and reiterate States’ responsibility to ensure through administrative and judicial measures that businesses under their jurisdiction and/or control, operating in sanctions contexts, do not violate human rights, including extraterritorially.

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“The Guiding principles do not create and do not intend to create new legal norms,” she said. “They address and elaborate on the application of existing treaty or customary legal norms by States, international organisations and other relevant actors in sanctions’ environments and contexts.”

“States, international organisations and businesses are invited to consult both the Guiding Principles and their Commentary and use them in their relevant programmes and activities, which should be always anchored in international human rights law and aim at mitigating the serious negative impact of unilateral sanctions, means of their enforcement and overcompliance on the enjoyment of human rights,” Douhan said.