ABSTRACT
The United Nations' increased reliance on international sanctions raises interest in how political consensus can be fashioned through international legal channels to make sanctions more effective instruments. The political efficacy of sanctions imposed by the United Nations will be only as strong as member states permit. That is the essence of political effectiveness: States must work together to make sanctions work well. As instruments of self-help in international law, sanctions can serve several objectives and goals. Sometimes they may be preventive, by seeking to preclude the commission of an illegal act or deny a violator from achieving its objective after committing an illegal act. The Sanctions Committee and the Military Staff Committee are both intended as mechanisms to coordinate and facilitate the implementation of sanctions measures by states in the hope of achieving a more unified response.
