Unilateral Trade Sanctions as a Means to Combat Human Rights Abuses: Legal and Factual Appraisal

25 Pages Posted: 25 Jul 2014

See all articles by Tilahun Hindeya

Tilahun Hindeya

Monash University - Faculty of Law

Date Written: September 1, 2013

Abstract

Some developed countries have used unilateral trade sanctions against governments that have allegedly been engaged in gross violations of human rights as a tool to force such governments to comply with basic human rights standards. Even though unilateral trade sanctions might be targeted against governments that grossly violate human rights, such measures have unintended consequences on the general population who live in the target country. In many cases, the general population suffers as a result of such sanctions rather than the public officials who are the targets. Hence, the effectiveness of such measures in meeting the desired result is questionable. Such measures have been utilized by countries that are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) thereby raising the issue of the legality of such measures under the WTO rules. The two main issues that surround unilateral trade sanctions are thus the legality of such measures under the WTO rules and the effectiveness of the measures to meet the desired result. I argue that unilateral trade sanctions on grounds of human rights violations are neither permissible under the WTO rules nor effective weapons to achieve the goals (i.e. forcing governments to comply with basic human rights standards).

Keywords: Unilateral Trade Sanctions, Human rights, Repressive Governments, The World Trade Organization, Extraterritorial Application

Suggested Citation

Hindeya, Tilahun, Unilateral Trade Sanctions as a Means to Combat Human Rights Abuses: Legal and Factual Appraisal (September 1, 2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2470870 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2470870

Tilahun Hindeya (Contact Author)

Monash University - Faculty of Law ( email )

Wellington Road
Clayton, Victoria 3800
Australia

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