Economic sanctions, unilateral and multilateral, have a long pedigree in international relations. From South Africa and Israel, to Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, such measures have, with varying results, been used in diverse contexts to influence the behavior of states. Some would celebrate the use of economic sanctions as a means of punishing “rogue states” for human rights violations or threats to the peace, while others would condemn it as “imperialism” by powerful states against the weak. Leaving aside Chapter VII enforcement action by the UN Security Council, the imposition of unilateral sanctions raises far-reaching questions in respect of the rights and duties of states under international law. A novel issue that has emerged recently is whether, in certain circumstances, such measures could even qualify as crimes against humanity.

单边和多边经济制裁在国际关系中有着悠久的渊源。从南非和以色列，到伊拉克、伊朗和朝鲜，这些措施已在不同背景下用于影响国家行为，结果各不相同。有些人会庆祝使用经济制裁作为惩罚侵犯人权或威胁和平的“流氓国家”的手段，而另一些人则谴责这是强国对弱国的“帝国主义”。撇开联合国安理会第七章的执法行动不谈，实施单边制裁在国际法规定的国家权利和义务方面引发了深远的问题。最近出现的一个新问题是，在某些情况下，此类措施是否甚至可以构成危害人类罪。