International sanctions
Sweden's official website on international sanctions
United Nation's Security Council and the EU Council Justus Lipsius building in Brussels.
This site provides a presentation of international sanctions, how and why they come about, and what the most common kinds of sanctions are.
The headings to the left provide access to subpages with descriptions of sanctions that target a particular country or are of a certain type, and also information as to which Swedish authority/authorities are responsible for questions concerning the sanctions in each specific case, for example exemptions. To the right are links to UN or EU documents that provide a more detailed account of what applies.
Why are there sanctions?
Sanctions are a valuable instrument in international efforts to safeguard peace and security.
Sanctions mean that restrictions limiting the freedom of a country, a group or its leaders to act are imposed through a collective decision by other countries. This is done because the international community wants to try to influence, via peaceful means, the behaviour of the country, group or individual through various economic and political measures. Examples of this can be to change the policies of a state that threaten international peace and security, to defuse a conflict in a country, to induce a state to cease systematic violations of human rights or to try to get the state to follow certain democratic principles.
Responsible department
The Security Policy Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs coordinates Sweden's sanctions policy.
Website under construction
It has been decided within the EU that as of spring 2007, each member country is to have a website containing information on new EU regulations on sanctions that are adopted, and on which national authorities are competent in issues concerning each regulation. Material will therefore be added to these pages on a regular basis as new regulations having a bearing on this requirement are adopted. There is also an ambition to publish information on older sanctions that are still in force. However, it will be some time before this website is complete.
