Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS (SANCTIONS - SIERRA LEONE) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 1999 NO. 208

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Statutory Rules 1999 No. 208

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Foreign Affairs

Charter of the United Nations Act 1945

Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions - Sierra Leone) Amendment 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 5 June 1999 the United Nations Security Council decided in Resolution 1171 to prohibit the sale and supply of arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment and spare parts, to Sierra Leone other than to the Government of Sierra Leone through named points of entry. The resolution also obliges states to prevent the entry into or transit through their territories of leading members of the former military junta and of the Revolutionary United Front, as designated by the Security Council sanctions committee.

The purpose of the amendments to the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions - Sierra Leone) Regulations is to implement Australia's obligations under resolution 1171, in combination with amendments to the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations and the Migration Regulations.

Details of the proposed Amending Regulations are as follows:

Amending Regulation 1 states the name of the regulations;

Amending Regulation 2 states that the Regulations commence on gazettal; and

Amending Regulation 3 states that Schedule 1 to the Regulations amends the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions - Sierra Leone) Regulations.

Schedule 1 sets out the Amendments as follows:

Item 1 states the name of the Regulations;

Item 2 states that the object of the Regulations is to assist in giving effect to resolution 1132 by restricting the supply of arms and related materiel to Sierra Leone;

Item 3 adds the definition of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States)2;

Item 4 updates the definition of resolution 1132 to include resolutions 1156 and 1171;

Item 5 updates the heading to Regulation 4;

Item 6 amends subregulation 4(1) to prohibit a person in Australia or a citizen of Australia from selling or supplying an item mentioned in subregulation (2) unless it is sold or supplied ,to the Government of Sierra Leone through a named entry point or for the sole use of the Military Observer Group of ECOWAS or the United Nations;

Item 7 avoids duplication of the definition of ECOWAS and brings regulation 6 into accordance with the interpretation provision; and

Item 8 inserts Schedule 1 which provides a list of points of entry into Sierra Leone.

The Amending Regulations commence on gazettal.


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