Howard Wachtel is a Franklin Fellow in the Political Section (Sanctions Unit) of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, where he focuses on the al Qaeda/Taliban, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Iraq sanctions regimes. During the course of the year, Howard will be monitoring each of these regimes, attending Security Council sanctions committee meetings, and contributing to the negotiation and drafting of Security Council resolutions related to each regime. He comes to the U.S. Department of State from Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he is a litigation associate.

The Sanctions Unit is responsible for advocating and implementing U.S. policy at the United Nations related to current UN sanctions regimes, as well as helping to maintain existing sanctions regimes and developing new ones. Mr. Wachtel is primarily responsible for USUN's interaction with the Security Council on issues related to al-Qaeda/Taliban sanctions (the “1267 regime”). He is responsible for providing guidance and recommendations regarding the strategic direction of the 1267 regime, including new measures to address recent litigation challenging the regime and to ensure that the regime adapts to the evolving nature of the terrorist threat. Mr. Wachtel represents the United States on the Security Council Committee which oversees this regime, advocates U.S. opinions in the Committee and negotiates with other Committee members to advance U.S. foreign policy priorities. He also provides detailed reporting and analysis to Washington about developments in the 1267 Committee.

In addition to his duties related to the 1267 Committee, Mr. Wachtel supports USUN efforts on other sanctions regimes, most significantly for Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Iraq. This may require attending Sanctions Committee meetings, negotiating texts, managing paperwork and assisting in the drafting of new Security Council resolutions.

Mr. Wachtel has worked as an attorney for three years, where he has been exposed to a diverse litigation practice, which includes securities law, international arbitration, reinsurance law, and antitrust law. Prior to beginning his practice as an attorney, he worked as an extern in the Office of the Legal Adviser (Treaty Affairs) at the U.S. Department of State. He has also worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies in London, in addition to serving as an intern on Capitol Hill. He has published three articles relating to the intersection of international law and foreign policy and has presented a fourth article for discussion at a Yale Journal of International Law symposium.

Mr. Wachtel received a Juris Doctor, as well as an LL.M. in international and comparative law, from Duke University. He received an undergraduate degree from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service and a General Course Diploma in international relations from the London School of Economics.