International sanctions

This is Sweden´s official website on international sanctions, with information as to what sanctions are in place and which Swedish government agencies have been assigned certain duties under EU sanctions regulations. Please note that the information presented in English may not be fully updated. To check the latest information, please contact the relevant geographical department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Swedish version can be reached to the right.

These pages provide a presentation of international sanctions, how and why they come about, and what the most common kinds of sanctions are. There is also contact information to those agencies that often have certain responsibilities regarding the sanctions.

The headings to the left provide access to subpages with descriptions of sanctions that target a particular state or are of a certain type, and also information as to which Swedish agency/agencies are responsible for questions concerning the sanctions in each specific case, for example exemptions. To the right are links to UN or EU documents that provide a more detailed account of what applies.

What are sanctions and why are they used? ?

Sanctions are a valuable instrument in international efforts to safeguard peace and security, and to promote democracy and human rights. They represent coercive measures that supplement supportive measures in the areas of diplomacy and development assistance with the same objectives.

Sanctions mean that restrictions limiting the freedom of a state, a group or its leaders to act are imposed through a collective decision by other states. This is done because the international community wants to use peaceful means to try and influence the behaviour of the state, group or individual through various economic and political measures. Examples of this can be to change the policies of a state that threatens international peace and security, to defuse a conflict in a country, to induce a state to cease systematic violations of human rights or to try to get the state to adopt certain democratic principles. Sanctions differ from other foreign policy instruments in that they are regulated through legal provisions. They are precisely formulated and violating them may result in penalties. Sanctions are intended to be of a temporary nature and regularly reviewed in light of developments. When their objective has been achieved, they are to be removed.

Responsible departments at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

The Security Policy Department at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs coordinates Sweden´s sanctions policy.

Questions as to whether there are sanctions targeting a specific country, and what sanctions might be involved, are best addressed to the geographical department at the MFA responsible for that region.

Questions concerning a certain aspect of the application of sanctions against a country should be addressed to the responsible Swedish agency listed in the specific case. More information is available on the agencies´ websites.