Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what methodologies in addition to the UN Inter-agency Standing Committee’s Sanctions Assessment Handbook his Department uses to assess the humanitarian effects of sanctions.

When considering the application of sanctions, the Government considers their humanitarian effects, both on the individuals and entities subject to sanctions, as well as on the general population if sanctions are broader. The Government follows a Smarter Sanctions policy which seeks to focus sanctions on those whose behaviour we are trying to change and reduce the risk of unintended consequences.

There are a range of tools and guidance available and we take a case-by-case approach to assessing the humanitarian effects of sanctions for each regime. UN sanctions regimes have panels of experts that produce reports covering the unintended consequences of sanctions regimes, including humanitarian impacts, amongst other things. At the EU, the humanitarian impact is also taken into account when sanctions are considered. We also work to ensure the design of each sanctions regulation takes into account of what exceptions or special licensing arrangements are appropriate for the type of sanctions regime, in line with the UK's foreign policy goals. We work closely with Government staff in country to ensure that humanitarian effects are minimised.