UN approves more transparent procedures for people and entities to get off its sanctions lists

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved more transparent procedures Friday for the hundreds of individuals, companies and other entities who are subject to U.N. sanctions and want to get off the blacklists.

The resolution, co-sponsored by Malta and the United States, also authorizes the establishment of a new informal working group by the Security Council to examine ways to improve the effectiveness of U.N. sanctions.

Malta’s U.N. Ambassador Vanessa Frazier told the council before the vote that the resolution is a “clear signal of this council’s commitment towards due process.”

It authorizes a new “focal point” to directly engage with those seeking to get off sanctions lists and gather information from a variety of sources to share with the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions, which makes the decisions on delisting, she said. And it requires the reason for the committee’s decision to be given to the petitioner.

After the vote, U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood called the council’s unanimous approval “a historic moment,” saying delisting procedures haven’t changed for 18 years.

“The international community is demonstrating its commitment to values such as transparency and fairness in U.N. sanctions processes,” he said.

“Security Council sanctions are an important tool to deter an array of threats to peace and security, ranging from the proliferation of arms and weapons of mass destruction, to countering terrorism and preventing human rights abuses,” Wood said.

But he stressed that to be effective, sanctions must be targeted and there must be “robust and fair procedures for delisting when warranted.”

The United States is against indefinite and punitive sanctions, and supports