If you had mentioned the name Wan Jinzhang to staff at the UN Security Council 10 years ago, few may have known who you meant. Instead, most knew him by his nickname, “Mr. Sanction.”

From 1992 to 2004, he was a political affairs officer responsible for implementing resolutions related to sanctions, mainly those against Libya and Iraq.

“It is not easy to deal with UN sanctions because you always have to make sure the sanctions are unconditionally executed, but at the same time do not directly affect innocent parties,” he said.

As an example, Wan used the plight of Libyan pilgrims in 1996.

That year, the UN Security Council placed flight restrictions on Libya, which resulted in thousands of Muslims being unable to fly to Saudi Arabia for their pilgrimage to Mecca. Due to the distance, it was not pragmatic to travel by land transportation.

“The UN originally did not intend to forbid regular religious activities by implementing its resolution, so a solution was needed to keep the flight restrictions in place while still guaranteeing Libyans could go on pilgrimage,” Wan said.

Libya applied to lift the sanction, he said, but it failed to win the backing of Western nations. Then, after negotiations among various parties, hope came in the shape of Egypt Air, which offered to provide charter flights for Libyan pilgrims.

The airline initially flew Wan from New York City to Tripoli, the Libyan capital, to mediate between UN organizations and the country’s foreign ministry. After the parties reached a consensus to allow only pilgrims on the flights and for the UN to supervise the entire process, Egypt Air was finally cleared to transport Libyans to Saudi Arabia.

Since then, the airline has chartered 40 to 50 flights a year, enabling roughly 6,000 Libyans to go on pilgrimage.

The former UN official said the episode was a good example of a “smart sanction,” one that does not negatively influence the legal rights of a nation’s people. “And the key to achieve this is to be neutral and fair.”

Wan, who retired upon leaving the UN, said he was the only Chinese in his international working group, which gave him “special advantages.”

When dealing with Libya or Iraq, he explained, Chinese officers are more easily trusted compared with those from Western countries such as the US, the UK, or France because China does not have interests in the Middle East, so it is easier for Chinese officers to act neutrally.

“If you always finish your UN mission in a fair way, people from different countries will trust you,” he added.