Mitigating the Impact of Sanctions on Humanitarian Action

In protracted emergencies, United States sanctions add a level of complexity for humanitarian operations. This challenge is particularly acute in North Korea, where longstanding food insecurity and public health crises have been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. Humanitarian organizations have identified intentional and inadvertent roadblocks to essential services as a result of long-standing sanctions on North Korean authorities, creating cumbersome and onerous obstacles to overcome. The repercussions of these sanctions are felt disproportionately by the civilian population and they make humanitarian activities extremely challenging.

To discuss the impact of sanctions on humanitarian assistance, the CSIS Humanitarian Agenda welcomes Congressman Andy Levin (D-MI-9), Vice Chair, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation, and author of the “Enhancing North Korea Humanitarian Assistance Act”. This armchair discussion, hosted by Jacob Kurtzer, Director and Senior Fellow of the Humanitarian Agenda, will explore some of the consequences of sanctions on civilian populations and policy solutions that could mitigate their humanitarian impact.

This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.