George A. Lopez
Senior Fellow

David Cortright
Research Fellow

In 2003-04, three major research initiatives dominated the Sanctions and Security Project, which we co-chaired.

The first initiative stemmed from our intense involvement with the United Nations regarding Iraq. Having for more than a decade conducted extensive research related to arms inspections and the impact of economic sanctions against the Saddam Hussein’s regime, we concluded — contrary to conventional wisdom — that those seeking weapons of mass destruction in Iraq were likely to find only remnants. Our findings proved to be correct, and as a result we became the subjects of more than 200 media interviews and appearances to discuss our work. Sanctions and Security Project writings and public commentary extended to the future role of the United Nations in Iraq, and the prospect for success of the U.S. venture in Iraq. Our findings were mentioned in Disarming Iraq, a book by weapons inspector Hans Blix. And our article, “Containing Iraq: Sanctions Worked” was published in the influential journal Foreign Affairs (July/August 2004).

The project’s second major undertaking has been to analyze the effectiveness of the United Nations in forming and implementing counter-terrorism policy. In September 2001, the UN Security Council created a Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) charged with gathering information, advising states, and monitoring compliance with anti-terrorism treaties and lock-down legislation of terrorist finances. In addition, the CTC was to ensure that smart financial sanctions and specialized travel sanctions be imposed on designated terrorist individuals and organizations.

Thanks to a $150,000 grant from the Danish Government and a $50,000 grant from the United States Institute of Peace, our research team, which includes Alistair Millar and Linda Gerber of the Fourth Freedom Forum, was able to interview dozens of counter-terrorism and money-laundering experts. The team also examined hundreds of documents and reports regarding the effectiveness of national institutions, such as central banks, in capturing terrorist assets. Critical to the research was the participation of Notre Dame students who completed a spring-semester seminar that we taught. The research also was aided greatly by a consultation held in Copenhagen in April, which tested the preliminary results of the research with financial control and terrorism experts. Our CTC research team completed an Action Agenda report in the fall of 2004.

Finally, the Sanctions and Security Project continued engagement in mainstream sanctions research. We wrote two chapters, one on the prospects for developing a coordinator of sanctions affairs within the UN Secretariat, and the second on the role of regional organizations in the implementation of sanctions. Both chapters will appear in a volume edited by Peter Wallensteen of Uppsala University, Sweden, a former Kroc Institute visiting fellow.

Working with research associates Benjamin Rooney and then Olda Bures, George has been researching the effectiveness of arms embargos in the 1990s. This is a joint project with Michael Broska of the Bonn International Center for Conversion, one of Europe’s top research institutes for examination of arms issues. Publication of the book from this project should occur in early 2006.

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