CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS (SANCTIONS-HAITI) REGULATIONS 1994 NO. 158

CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS (SANCTIONS-HAITI) REGULATIONS 1994 NO. 158

Statutory Rules 1994 No. 158

Issued by the authority of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Charter of the United Nations Act 1945

Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Haiti) Regulations

Section 6 of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 ("the Act") provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for and in relation to giving effect to decisions that:

(a)       the Security Council has made under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations; and

(b)       Article 25 of the Charter requires Australia to carry out;

in so far as those decisions require Australia to apply measures not involving the use of armed force.

On 6 May 1994 the United Nations Security Council decided, by virtue of Resolution 917, to impose sanctions on Haiti in addition to those imposed by Resolutions 841 and 873 with a view to increasing pressure on the Haitian de facto authorities and thence to achieving a comprehensive and peaceful settlement of the crisis in Haiti. The sanctions imposed under Resolution 917 entered into force on 22 May 1994 and target specifically the members of the de facto authorities and their families. The sanctions imposed under Resolutions 841 and 873 had not been implemented previously. The purpose of the proposed Regulations is to implement those parts of the sanctions imposed by the three Resolutions which could not be implemented under other legislation. The Regulations impose the following sanctions against Haiti:

•       a freeze on the funds on the Government of Haiti and the Haitian de facto authorities, as required by operative paragraph 8 of Resolution 841 and operative paragraph 4 of Resolution 917.

•       a wide-ranging import and export ban on Haitian goods and goods destined for Haiti, with the exception of certain products such as medical supplies, foodstuffs, essential humanitarian supplies and information materials, as required by operative paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 of Resolution 917.

The Regulations provide for exceptions to the sanctions, as required by operative paragraphs 7 and 8 of Resolution 917 and operative paragraph 2 of Resolution 873, and for the granting of permissions by an authorised person.