Report

IHL and the humanitarian impact of counterterrorism measures and sanctions

Think tank: Chatham House

Author(s): Emanuela-Chiara Gillard

September 3, 2021

This report from UK think tank Chatham House looks at the unintended ill effects of well-intended measures.

In recent decades, international and domestic counterterrorism measures have addressed ever broader forms of support to terrorist acts and groups designated as terrorist. When these measures apply in situations of armed conflict, there is a real risk that they can impede the operations of humanitarian organizations. Country-specific sanctions can raise similar problems. Challenges arise as a direct result of the restrictions themselves, their incorporation in funding agreements and their cascading effects, as commercial actors that provide services necessary for humanitarian operations – banks, insurers and commodity providers – restrict the services they are willing to provide. This paper presents the three relevant bodies of law – counterterrorism measures, country-specific sanctions and international humanitarian law – identifies the principal points of friction; clarifies outstanding questions and frequent misunderstandings; and makes recommendations to contribute to finding practical solutions for resolving the tensions.