The Legal Debates: Sanctions are fair and effective

Recent years have seen an expanding use of sanctions as a foreign policy tool, anxiously witnessed by millions across the globe. We’ve watched the Trump administration and the EU impose and tighten sanctions against a number or countries, most notably; Russia, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela. As British diplomat Jeremy Greenstock puts it "there is nothing else between words and military action if you want to bring pressure upon a government". But with this increased activity, are sanctions bringing governments the results the envisaged? Are they still an effective diplomatic tool? And, are sanctions imposed fairly? Watch now, as we debated the motion: Sanctions are fair and effective. Debaters include: The Rt Hon. the Lord Darling of Roulanish, journalist and author, Alastair Campbell, Maya Lester QC, Brick Court Chambers, and Ben Emmerson QC, Monckton Chambers.