Sanctions may be considered narrow if they target a limited number of individuals or entities, directly associated with alleged violations. There are no specific rules on how many targets sanctions should have to remain in the ‘narrow’ category.
The fact that sanctions may target a small group of individuals does not mean that their consequences do not affect a wider population.
State officials and private individuals associated with human rights violations are often banned from entering countries that individually or collectively adopt sanctions.
Travel bans are not a blanket measure that apply to all state officials. As a rule, people who make it to the sanctions list are carefully reviewed. Travel bans that apply to the relatives and family members of people directly associated with violations may be more controversial.
The assets of state officials, private individuals, and companies associated with human rights violations are often frozen as a result of sanctions.
Like travel bans, asset freezes are not intended to be introduced arbitrarily or in an overbroad manner. There may be difficulties in targeting the assets if such assets belong to the identified individuals but are not formally held in their name.
Sanctions may be considered broad if they target economic sectors generally or limit the entire population (or a significant part) in their privileges and rights.
Even broad restrictions are, to an extent, targeted. It may be unrealistic or unreasonable to halt any and all cooperation with the sanctioned state. Although excessive impact of broad sectoral sanctions on the already repressed populations is not the end goal, it may be a negative consequence.
Restricting trade or lifting trade preferences is a common strategy to induce state compliance with human rights obligations.
Trade restrictions range from bans on trading in certain goods or services (in many cases sanctions specifically prohibit trade in arms or dual-service goods) to complete trade embargoes.
Trade restrictions may affect one or many economic sectors of the sanctioned state. The stricter the character of trade restrictions, the likelier they are to affect broad groups of population.
Termination of international services, like SWIFT, is a measure that cannot be applied in a narrow manner.
Such measures necessarily affect large groups of people whose ability to benefit from a global and integrated service system is limited.