The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Archive: A New Sanctions Approach for Humanitarian Assistance
Jun 8, 2025
Rachel Alpert, a partner at Jenner & Block and former State Department attorney, teams up with Alex Zerden, founder of Capitol Peak Strategies and former Treasury Department official, to tackle humanitarian sanctions. They discuss recent policy shifts that create exemptions for humanitarian aid amidst sanctions targeting terrorist groups. Delving into the challenges faced in regions like Syria and Afghanistan, they highlight the need for legal reforms and collaboration among organizations to improve aid delivery while preventing exploitation by extremist entities.
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Sanctions vs. Humanitarian Aid Tension
- Sanctions aim to exclude bad actors from global finance but need narrow exceptions for humanitarian aid in conflict zones.
- This tension intensified after 9/11 and affects embargoes in countries like Somalia, Yemen, Cuba, and North Korea.
Somalia Aid Under Al-Shabaab
- In Somalia, aid groups faced prosecution fears for interacting with Al-Shabaab to deliver famine relief.
- Treasury responded with FAQs and general licenses to reassure NGOs their aid wouldn't trigger sanctions.
Reassurances Don't Fully Remove Barriers
- Existing reassurances, like Treasury FAQs, helped but failed to fully eliminate fear among aid groups.
- Material support laws and cautious financial institutions continue to obstruct humanitarian funding flows.