Under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Security Council can take enforcement measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. Such measures range from economic and/or other sanctions not involving the use of armed force to international military action.

The use of mandatory sanctions is intended to apply pressure on a State or entity to comply with the objectives set by the Security Council without resorting to the use of force. Sanctions have included comprehensive economic and trade sanctions as well as more targeted measures such as arms embargoes, travel bans, and financial or diplomatic restrictions. Increasingly, sanctions have been targeted directly to individuals or specific political actors rather than to States as a whole. Targeted sanctions, for instance, can involve the freezing of assets and blocking the financial transactions of political elites or entities whose behaviour triggered sanctions in the first place.

Currently the United Nations Security Council imposes sanctions measures on, or relating to, the following States or entities (all links to United Nations Security Council):
• Al Qaida and the Taliban  - To obtain a fully updated version of the list of individuals and entities subject to the sanctions measures, you are encouraged to consult, on a regular basis, the Committee's website at the following URL: http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/consolist.shtml. To view the latest update on the sanctions list please refer to the documents below.

• Cote d'Ivoire - http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1572/index.shtml
• The Democratic People's Republic of Korea -
• Democratic Republic of the Congo - http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1533/index.shtml
• Iran - http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1737/index.shtml
• Iraq - http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1518/index.shtml
• Lebanon - http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1636/index.shtml
• Liberia - http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1521/index.shtml
• Sierra Leone - http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1132/index.shtml
• Somalia  - http://www.un.org/sc/committees/751/index.shtml
• Sudan - http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1591/index.shtml
Detailed information on each sanctions committee, including relevant measures, lists, Committee Guidelines and comprehensive documentation, including official documents and Press Releases, is available on the UN Security Council webpage http://www.un.org/sc

Security Council resolutions pertaining to able States or entities have been implemented in Cook Islands law by the Terrorism Suppression Act 2004.