A/HRC/24/20 I. Organization of the workshop 1. The workshop on the impact of the application of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights by the affected populations in the States targeted was held on 5 April 2013, in Geneva. It was chaired and moderated by the former Permanent Representative of Algeria to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Idriss Jazairy. The workshop was composed of the opening session and three subsequent thematic sessions: • Session I: Unilateral coercive measures: concept, legal framework and challenges • Session II: Impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights • Session III: The way forward During the thematic sessions, nine panellists made presentations, which were followed by an interactive dialogue. 2. The objective of the workshop was to provide a platform for the exchange of views among States, academic and civil society experts, and human rights mechanisms, on the impact of the application of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, to allow all stakeholders to discuss new trends, and to brainstorm on the way forward. II. Opening session 3. In opening the workshop, the Chairperson outlined four methodological issues, and invited all participants to be specific in formulating practical proposals for the Human Rights Council with regard to the nature and impact of unilateral coercive measures in terms of human rights. The first issue concerned the meaning of “unilateral coercive measures”. The Chairperson asked whether “unilateral” only encompassed coercive measures applied by a single State to bring about a desired change in the policy of another State, or whether it should include coercive measures by regional groups without Security Council clearance or a mandate from the World Trade Organization. He then pointed out that the mandate of the workshop referred to “coercive measures” rather than “sanctions”, and asked whether the two terms should be considered synonymous. The Chairperson further asked if the participants would accept the connotation of coercive measures as being the “half-way house” between diplomacy and the use of force or whether they would favour a broader definition that included also “threats of the use of force”. Lastly, he asked whether the workshop should take coercive measures for granted and discuss how to minimize their adverse impact on the enjoyment of human rights, or whether it should question the legitimacy of such measures. 4. On behalf of OHCHR, the Director of the Research and Right to Development Division delivered welcoming remarks. She noted that the impact of unilateral coercive measures had been addressed on various occasions in relation to the three pillars of the work of the United Nations: peace and security, development, and human rights. She highlighted a number of United Nations reference documents that could be a helpful basis for discussion, including a thematic study on the impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, including recommendations on actions aimed at ending such measures 1 conducted by OHCHR in 2012, general comment No. 8 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 2 and a working paper presented to the 1 2 A/HRC/19/33. E/C.12/1997/8. 3