CiR2P Option 26 | Apply political sanctions
DISCUSSION:
Political sanctions can include suspending or expelling a country from a regional or international organisation; exclusion from a summit or meeting; withdrawing diplomatic recognition; and or applying bilateral diplomatic restrictions and expulsions. They can also encompass targeted travel and visa bans against specific political leaders, their business associates, and family members. Cultural isolation such as sports, arts, and academic boycotts, and ‘naming and shaming’ through condemnation in international forums, also fall within the remit of political sanctions.
Western government could explore the following options to encourage governments to pursue policies more conducive to the protection of civilians against climate related harm.
- Suspension or expulsion from international or regional bodies (or refusal to admit to membership) may entail not only loss of a degree of national prestige but also of technical cooperation or financial assistance on climate change that countries may receive from such bodies.
- Targeted travel bans and visa bans on family members attending Western schools and universities can be effective if sustained and serious.
- Cultural sanctions can be effective in raising awareness internationally and in the target country that a particular behaviour is unacceptable.
- academic boycotts could involve restricting research funding or publishing opportunities, or cancelling academic and student exchanges
- Western artists and performers can be encouraged to reconsider tours to the target country or its region, and target country artist and preforms can be banned from tours in Western countries.
- Sporting boycotts, the most influential form of cultural boycott, have over the years involved expulsions from the Olympics and international soccer tournaments, and the cancellation of cricket and rugby tours, and could be applied in creative ways to pressure international climate rogues to change policy direction.
- Naming and shaming has been a staple option pursued by NGOs and countries alike at international climate events for the past 30 years.