Ep. 20: To Lift or Not to Lift: Will Covid-19 Shake Up Sanctions?

The coronavirus pandemic could change dynamics in the global
political landscape that seemed unchangeable only last month. Will
sanctions regimes be one of its victims? Many parties in the
international community are debating whether to loosen sanctions in
certain countries to help them fight the pandemic, but critics say
that bad actors are using the pandemic as political opportunism to
lift sanctions. On today's show, we welcome two experts: Hilal
Elver, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food who is
currently quarantined in the seaside Turkish town of Bodrum, and
Loraine Rickard-Martin, a UN consultant specializing in
international sanctions and a co-author of "The Evolution of UN
Sanctions." Editor's note: we asked Ukrainian Permanent
Representative Sergiy Kyslytsya on the show to discuss his letter
to the UN secretary-general criticizing the Russian-led coalition
at the UN calling for loosening sanctions. He did not follow up on
many requests for comment. Links: PassBlue's live coverage of the
Coronavirus pandemic at the UN:
www.passblue.com/2020/03/15/the-u…s-rages-updates/ PassBlue's
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