Regulations Amending the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations: SOR/2020-115

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 154, Number 12

Registration

SOR/2020-115 June 1, 2020

UNITED NATIONS ACT

P.C. 2020-396 May 30, 2020

Whereas the Security Council of the United Nations, acting under Article 41 of the Charter of the United Nations, adopted Resolution 2133 (2014) on January 27, 2014, Resolution 2160 (2014) on June 17, 2014, Resolution 2161 (2014) on June 17, 2014, Resolution 2170 (2014) on August 15, 2014, Resolution 2178 (2014) on September 24, 2014, Resolution 2195 (2014) on December 19, 2014, Resolution 2199 (2015) on February 12, 2015, Resolution 2214 (2015) on March 27, 2015, Resolution 2249 (2015) on November 20, 2015, Resolution 2253 (2015) on December 17, 2015, Resolution 2255 (2015) on December 21, 2015, Resolution 2309 (2016) on September 22, 2016, Resolution 2322 (2016) on December 12, 2016, Resolution 2331 (2016) on December 20, 2016, Resolution 2341 (2017) on February 13, 2017, Resolution 2347 (2017) on March 24, 2017, Resolution 2354 (2017) on May 24, 2017 and Resolution 2368 (2017) on July 20, 2017;

And whereas it appears to the Governor in Council to be necessary to make regulations for enabling the measures set out in those resolutions to be effectively applied;

Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to section 2 of the United Nations Act footnote a, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations.

Regulations Amending the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations

Amendments

1 The title of the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations footnote 1 is replaced by the following:

Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolutions on Taliban, ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida

2 (1) The definitions aircraft, Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, Al-Qaida Sanctions List, Canadian ship, Guidelines of the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, Guidelines of the 1988 Sanctions Committee, judge, person associated with Al-Qaida, property, Security Council Resolutions and technical data in section 1 of the Regulations are repealed.

(2) The definition Comité 1988 in section 1 of the French version of Regulations is repealed.

(3) The definitions arms and related material, Canadian, entity and technical assistance in section 1 of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

(4) The definition 1988 Sanctions Committee in section 1 of the English version of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(5) Section 1 of the Regulations is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

(6) Section 1 of the French version of the Regulations is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

3 The heading before section 2 and sections 2 to 8 of the Regulations are replaced by the following:

Prohibitions

Prohibited activities

2 It is prohibited for any person in Canada or any Canadian outside Canada to knowingly

Embargo — arms and related material

3 It is prohibited for any person in Canada or any Canadian outside Canada to knowingly

Embargo — military activities

4 It is prohibited for any person in Canada or any Canadian outside Canada to knowingly provide, directly or indirectly, technical assistance or financial assistance related to military activities to a person associated with the Taliban or a person associated with ISIL (Da’esh) or Al-Qaida.

Embargo — transport

5 It is prohibited for the owner or master of a Canadian vessel, as defined in section 2 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, any operator of an aircraft registered in Canada, any Canadian owner or master of a vessel or any Canadian operator of an aircraft to knowingly carry, cause to be carried or permit to be carried arms and related material or any explosives destined for a person associated with the Taliban or for a person associated with ISIL (Da’esh) or Al-Qaida.

Assisting in prohibited activity

6 It is prohibited for any person in Canada or any Canadian outside Canada to knowingly do anything that causes, facilitates or assists in, or is intended to cause, facilitate or assist in, any activity prohibited by sections 2 to 5.

Obligations

Duty to determine

7 (1) Each of the entities set out in subsection (2) must determine on a continuing basis whether they are in possession or control of property owned, held or controlled by or on behalf of

Entities

(2) The entities are:

Duty to disclose — RCMP or CSIS

8 (1) Every person in Canada, every Canadian outside Canada and every entity set out in subsection 7(2) must disclose without delay to the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or to the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service

Immunity

(2) No proceedings under the United Nations Act and no civil proceedings lie against a person for a disclosure made in good faith under subsection (1).

Applications

Exemption

9 (1) A person that wishes to engage in any activity that is prohibited under these Regulations must, before doing so, apply to the Minister in writing for a certificate to exempt the activity from the application of the Regulations.

Certificate

(2) The Minister must issue the certificate if the Security Council did not intend that the activity be prohibited or if the Security Council, the 1988 Sanctions Committee or the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, as the case may be, has approved the activity in advance.

Basic or extraordinary expenses

10 (1) A person whose property is affected by the application of section 2 may apply to the Minister in writing for a certificate to exempt the property from the application of that section if the property is necessary for basic or extraordinary expenses.

Certificate

(2) If it is established in accordance with Resolution 1452 (2002) of December 20, 2002, adopted by the Security Council that the property is necessary for basic or extraordinary expenses, the Minister must issue a certificate within the following time periods:

Mistaken identity

11 (1) A person whose name is the same as or similar to the name of a person associated with the Taliban or to the name of a person associated with ISIL (Da’esh) or Al-Qaida and who claims not to be that person may apply to the Minister in writing for a certificate stating that they are not that person.

Determination by Minister

(2) Within 45 working days after receiving the application, the Minister must

Personal Information

Communication by Minister

12 (1) The Minister may, for the purpose of enforcing these Regulations or fulfilling any obligation under a resolution of the Security Council with respect to the Taliban, ISIL (Da’esh) or Al-Qaida or to respond to a request from the Security Council or any of its subsidiary organs, disclose any personal information to an official or the Security Council or any of its subsidiary organs.

Receipt of information

(2) An official may receive any personal information disclosed to them under subsection (1).

Communication by official

(3) An official may, for the purpose of enforcing these Regulations or fulfilling any obligation under a resolution of the Security Council with respect to the Taliban, ISIL (Da’esh) or Al-Qaida or to respond to a request from the Security Council or any of its subsidiary organs, disclose any personal information to the Minister.

Application Before Publication

4 For the purpose of paragraph 11(2)(a) of the Statutory Instruments Act, these Regulations apply before they are published in the Canada Gazette.

Coming into Force

5 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

As a Member State of the United Nations and pursuant to Article 25 of the Charter of the United Nations (the Charter), Canada is legally obligated to implement binding decisions of the United Nations Security Council (the Security Council) taken under Chapter VII of the Charter. Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Security Council adopted resolutions 1267 (1999), 1330 (2000), 1390 (2002), 1526 (2004), 1988 (2011), and 1999 (2011) to freeze the assets of the Taliban, Usama bin Laden and his associates, and the members of the Al-Qaida organization, and prevent the supply, sale, and transfer of arms and technical assistance to them. Canada has implemented all of these resolutions through the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations (the Regulations). Since the implementation of these resolutions, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2253 (2015), which expanded its Al-Qaida sanctions framework to explicitly include ISIL (Da’esh). It subsequently adopted resolutions 2255 (2015) and 2368 (2017), which reaffirmed the asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo on listed individuals and entities.

Objective

Description

The Regulations Amending the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations give effect to the decisions of the Security Council to impose various measures outlined in resolutions 2253 (2015), 2255 (2015) and 2368 (2017).

The amendments

For more information, please consult Security Council Resolution 2253 (2015), Resolution 2255 (2015) and Resolution 2368 (2017).

Regulatory development

Consultation

Global Affairs Canada engages regularly with relevant stakeholders including civil society organizations and cultural communities and other like-minded governments regarding Canada’s approach to sanctions implementation. With respect to the specific proposed amendments, no such external outreach was conducted. Canada is obliged to implement the binding elements of the Security Council resolutions related to the Regulations as a member of the United Nations.

Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation

An assessment has been conducted and no modern treaty implications have been identified.

Instrument choice

Regulations are the sole method to enact sanctions in Canada. No other instrument could be considered.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

The amendments to the Regulations make Canada compliant with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations by implementing Security Council Resolution 2253 (2015), 2255 (2015) and 2368 (2017).

Canadian banks and financial institutions are required to comply with the sanctions. They will do so by adding the new prohibitions to their existing monitoring systems, which may result in a minor compliance cost. However, given that the United Nations Al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations have been in place since 1999, it is unlikely that there are existing interactions with Al-Qaida or the Taliban, or with any associates of those organizations, and therefore there is likely little to no incremental compliance cost associated with these amendments.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to the amendments, as there are no costs to small business.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply to the amendments, as they do not impose incremental administrative burden on businesses.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The amendments align with Security Council Resolution 2253 (2015), 2255 (2015) and 2368 (2017) and are made to fulfill Canada’s obligation to implement all measures taken by the United Nations Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.

Strategic environmental assessment

The amendments are unlikely to result in important environmental effects. In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

The subject of sanctions has previously been addressed for effects on gender and diversity in May 2018, in consultations with departmental gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) experts.

Although sanctions are intended to facilitate change to restore peace and security, protect and advance human rights, and combat foreign corruption through economic pressure on states and responsible individuals, they can nevertheless have an impact on vulnerable groups. In countries facing sanctions, such groups have historically been more likely to bear the political and economic instability caused by economic sanctions due to their disadvantaged position in society.

Women, in particular, are more likely to suffer due to their vulnerable socioeconomic and political status. This may particularly be the case in developing countries where broader economic sanctions are in place. This suffering has been historically measured using the following variables: women’s participation in the workplace; economic participation; political participation; and women’s economic rights. In addition, women are often primarily responsible for feeding and caring for their families in many of their countries, which is made more difficult if goods are scarce or not available in target countries, as a result of sanctions.

Current sanctions regimes are being improved from a gender and diversity responsiveness perspective. Canada is seeking to improve this responsiveness through funding research that further explores the gendered aspects of Canadian and international sanctions, as well as advancing international advocacy efforts in the multilateral settings where sanctions are designed. In addition, Canada undertakes direct, gender-responsive development programming in many countries affected by sanctions, and Canada’s contributions to international financial institutions can also go toward projects and programs in countries subject to Canadian sanctions.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Canada’s sanctions regulations are enforced by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canada Border Services Agency. Anyone who contravenes the Regulations is liable, upon conviction, to the punishments set out in section 3 of the United Nations Act (namely, on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or to both; or on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term of not more than 10 years).

Contact

Jennifer Loten
Executive Director
International Crime and Terrorism
Telephone: 343‑203‑3236
Email: jennifer.loten@international.gc.ca