Resolution on Trade Sanctions

Manila 2011

Globalisation, an open economy and trade are the main driving forces behind economic growth.

A good example is the unprecedented economic growth in the Asian countries over the last decade, mainly driven by trade. Economic growth creates better opportunities.

For a country’s population to earn a decent income and it creates a middle class on which a government will become dependent for raising taxes and funding its budget.

A tax paying middle class will demand respect for their rights such as freedom of speech and free
elections. A stable liberal democracy is always based on a broad tax paying middle class.

The internationally agreed set of human rights must be respected by all governments. The international community must put pressure on regimes that violate human rights to change their ways. In intergovernmental relations the subject should be discussed in a dialog about improvements. If such a dialogue is refused, improvements are non-existent and violations are severe, sanctions by the international community should be considered, which may include embargos on arms and internet blocking technologies, to increase pressure on the regime. These should begin with ‘smart sanctions’, targeting the elements in the regime that are responsible for these violations.

The effectiveness of trade sanctions is questionable. They usually can hit the victims harder than the violators. And they may give the regime an excuse to blame the international community for the misery of its people. Therefore the grounds for the sanctions need to be clearly communicated to all parties involved, including the citizens of the sanctioned country. So even though trading with a country with serious human rights issues may seem unethical, it may be more unethical to stop trade altogether.

Therefore, the congress

BELIEVING

that the chance of developing a stable liberal democracy are greatly improved if the government’s budget depends largely on the taxes collected from a broad base of income generating citizens,
that in countries that lack a stable liberal democracy, economic growth is conditional for creating a broad base of income generating citizens,
that open trade is the the most effective way to stimulate economic growth in a sustainable way,
that thus trade is an effective tool to increase the number of countries with a stable liberal democracy.

NOTING

that governments or regimes that disrespect human rights are usually not based on a stable liberal democracy,

OBSERVING

that trade sanctions may create more harm to the citizens than to the regime,
that the individuals that form such a regime often have interests and ambitions that can be frustrated by ‘smart sanctions’ which only
target the people that violate human rights,

CONSIDERING

that sometimes a regime’s control over the economy can be so extreme that trade only benefits the regime and not the country as a whole,

CALLS ON ALL MEMBER PARTIES AND PARLIAMENTARIANS

to condemn violations of human rights by any regime publicly as well as in direct contacts with
representatives of the regime that is responsible for these violations and
An open trade position with all countries should remain the default position unless sanctions can be targeted in such a way that the chances of a successful outcome, and the impact on the regime, outweigh the short-term negative effect on the population at large.