EnforcEmEnt and chaptEr VII
Since the end of the Cold War, the Security Council has intervened in situations
deemed threatening to international peace and security, as authorized in Chapter VII
of the UN Charter. That provision enables the Security Council to take mea sures (eco-
nomic sanctions, direct military force) to prevent or deter threats to international peace
or to counter acts of aggression. Previously, the council had invoked such actions only
twice because the UN preferred the more limited, traditional peacekeeping route. The
disarmament provisions overseen by the U.S. Special Commission for the Disarma-
ment of Iraq and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), one of the United
Nations’ specialized agencies, and the economic sanctions against Iraq during the
1990s were enforcement actions under Chapter VII. Indeed, the 1990s were known
as the “sanctions de cade” for the numerous times targeted sanctions were imposed.
Sanctions have been the major approach used by the UN, the Eu ro pean Union, and
the United States to try to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, its program
seen as a threat to international peace and security. From 2006 to 2012, UN- based
resolutions kept expanding the reach of the sanctions, while tightening monitoring
and inspections. These sanctions isolated Iran from the international banking system
and progressively targeted individuals, companies, and organ izations for asset freezes.
The United Nations has undertaken more than 70 peacekeeping missions since 1946.
While some have successfully established peace, others, like the ongoing mission in the
Demo cratic Republic of the Congo, are still struggling after a de cade to prevent vio lence
and rebuild state capacity.
224 CHAPTER SEvEN ■ IG os, IntErnatIonal law, and nGos