On March 27, an international online workshop “War and Sanctions: How to Counteract Aggressor States” was organized by the Economic Security Council of Ukraine (BOC) with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.
More than 60 participants from around the world – representatives of governments and civil society – learned how to use the DIU’s War & Sanctions portal, the world’s only open database of sponsors and accomplices of Russian aggression.
“For all this data to help achieve real goals – to deprive aggressors of the ability to wage wars, produce weapons, punish criminals who abducted at least 20,000 Ukrainian children, return and protect cultural heritage, and deprive Russian mouthpieces of platforms to spread their narratives – joint and coordinated work of diplomats, journalists, civil society activists and government agencies is needed,” said Andriy Yusov, representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, opening the event.
Experts from international organizations also joined the workshop. Robin Mitchell from the Open Source Centre (UK) shared the most effective tools for searching and verifying information about potential violations of restrictions. Samuel Bickett from the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation explained how Hong Kong has become the main hub for circumventing sanctions and how to investigate violations of export restrictions in China. Allen Maggard from C4ADS (USA) explained how to turn a qualitative study into an influential material for governments.
“Iran and Russia are not acting independently – they are acting together, in full solidarity. So we have to act together. Today, we are all part of a global network of resistance: from Kyiv to Tehran to Washington,” said Maneli Mirhan, Strategic Consultant for European Cooperation at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), emphasizing that the effectiveness of sanctions pressure depends on the activity of civil society.
Andriy Yusov’s opening remarks at the workshop “War and Sanctions: How to Counteract Aggressor States” are available here.
The event was supported by the International Renaissance Foundation. The materials of the event reflect the position of the authors and do not necessarily coincide with the position of the International Renaissance Foundation.
Source: Ukrainian View
