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The primary objective of this handbook is to present a clear and flexible methodology, which can be used by practitioners to assess potential humanitarian impacts in advance of, during, or following sanctions. In order to fulfil that objective, this handbook aims to:
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Describe the elements of the sanctions assessment methodology, and show how the methodology can be used during different stages of sanctions;
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Provide guidelines for the minimum requirements to adequately conduct a humanitarian assessment;
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Identify possible areas for humanitarian consequences of sanctions; Improve how assessors use and interpret data for assessment of living conditions;
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Provide guidance on how to identify those population groups most likely to be affected by sanctions; and,
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Provide a basis for decision makers to determine how to minimize unintended harm and improve wellbeing.
This handbook draws on methods and approaches from several disciplines, particularly the field of impact evaluation in the social sciences. These research methods are applied here to the specific task of assessing the influence of sanctions on conditions of life in targeted regions.
Theoretical textbooks often show how to perform a study under ideal conditions—when all relevant information is available, where funds and time are not constraints, and when social conditions are stable. This handbook is instead oriented to helping the reader uncover meaningful and valid findings within the extant resource and operational constraints.
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