Mercy Corps Applauds UN Security Council for Passing Groundbreaking Humanitarian Safeguard

Today, the UN Security Council approved a resolution establishing a humanitarian “carve out” across all sanctions regimes, ensuring that lifesaving aid reaches civilians in conflict zones and that humanitarian workers do not face additional risks in places where sanctioned actors and groups are present.

Humanitarian organizations have long expressed concern about unintended impacts of sanctions regimes—which are frequently used as a tool to enable international peace and security. Without specific safeguards, humanitarian activity, including standard transactions in countries where sanctions are in place, could be criminalized. This uncertainty has amplified the risk for organizations aiding civilians and has, in some cases, led financial institutions to curtail services critical to running humanitarian programs.

Recognizing this, the UNSC had established humanitarian safeguards in two sanctions regimes related to Somalia, in 2010 after a famine declaration to ensure aid agencies could reach controlled areas, and Afghanistan, in 2021. However, a standardized safeguard in all countries where sanctions are in place will protect humanitarian action and ensure that individual regime-based carve outs do not result in a confusing patchwork of different protections. UNSCR 2664 will provide standard protections across all existing and future sanctions regimes, making clear that they are not intended to limit lifesaving aid or the activities of humanitarian organizations.

Kate Phillips-Barrasso, Mercy Corps’ Vice President for Global Policy and Advocacy, says:

“This resolution is a game changer for humanitarian organizations, which have experienced confusion and faced additional risks in providing lifesaving aid. As we face record-breaking humanitarian need worldwide and humanitarian organizations like Mercy Corps face increased safety and security risks in meeting them, this clarity and the protection it brings are of paramount importance.

“We applaud the UN Security Council—in particular the United States and Ireland for their leadership in advancing the resolution—which recognized this challenge and took decisive steps to enable humanitarian action.”