New Reports on the use of sanctions against Organized Crime

I’m delighted to have launched three reports in recent months which focus on the use of targeted sanctions to counter organized crime

The first is titled “Convergence Zone: The Evolution of Targeted Sanctions Usage Against Transnational Organized Crime.” It looks at the evolution of sanctions regimes and policy targeting organized crime, in the US, UN, EU and UK systems. It further details the processes these jurisdictions use in sanctioning. It is available here.

For those looking for highlights of the report, an executive briefing of the above report has also been produced. It is available here.

Finally, I just published “Hard Targets: Identifying a framework of objectives for targeted sanctions on illicit economies.” This report develops a tailored framework for assessing the strategic goals of sanctions regimes and groups of linked designations focused on TOC, as well as of individual designation objectives. The development of this framework is meant to create a tool to both better analyze the impact of TOC-focused sanctions and to design better sanctioning approaches. The report can be found here.

New Chapter: The “Non-Maghreb” and Transnational Clandestine Flows from the Sahel Region

Delighted to be included in a great ISPI monograph: ‘The Cost of “Non-Maghreb”: Unpacking the Political and Economic Costs of Disunion and Divisions.’

My chapter, titled ‘The “Non-Maghreb” and Transnational Clandestine Flows from the Sahel Region,’ focuses on clandestine flows connecting the Sahel and Maghreb. It traces current dynamics around the smuggling of commodities, drugs and arms, and the movement of migrants, terrorists and mercenaries.

The chapter next turns to the structural factors which impede efforts by Maghrebi and Sahelien states to address these flows, including the structure of illicit markets, limited intra-state coordination, the growth of uncontrolled territories, and poor state relations with border communities.

The chapter ends with a brief set of policy recommendations. It can be accessed here.

New Report: Illicit economies and peace and security in Libya

Delighted to launch a new report, written with Emadeddin Badi Badi and Rupert Horsley for the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, on illicit markets in Libya.

The report details the connections between illicit markets, armed groups and political actors. It next assesses how Libya’s five main illicit markets have evolved over the last three years and the impact that those shifts had. It ends by identifying options for tailoring UNSC activities on Libya to address illicit markets.

It can be found here.

New Article: Countering Libya’s illicit economies through targeted sanctions

Delighted to launch a short article on the use of targeted sanctions to counter illicit economies in Libya. The article is part of a broader workstream on the use of sanctions to target organized crime and corruption undertaken by The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, with a series of reports due to be launched in the coming months.

The article on Libya can be accessed here: Countering Libya’s illicit economies through targeted sanctions.