Security Council 1718 Sanctions Committee Underlines Humanitarian Exemptions Pursuant to Paragraph 26 of Security Council Resolution 2375 (2017)
The Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1718 (2006), in order to dispel any potential misunderstandings about the Security Council sanctions regime on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and better facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, wishes to recall the relevant provisions contained in resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013), 2270 (2016), 2321 (2016), 2356 (2017), 2371 (2017) and 2375 (2017).
These resolutions clarify that sanctions measures adopted by the Security Council are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or to affect negatively or restrict those activities, including economic activities and cooperation, food aid and humanitarian assistance, that are not prohibited, as well as the work of international and non-governmental organizations carrying out assistance and relief activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for the benefit of the civilian population of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Furthermore, the resolutions clearly state that the Committee may, on a case-by-case basis, exempt any activity from the measures imposed by these resolutions if the Committee determines that such an exemption is necessary to facilitate the work of such organizations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or for any other purpose consistent with the objectives of these resolutions.
To this end, the Security Council sanctions regime includes many mechanisms to enable Governments and humanitarian agencies to request exemptions, including a global mechanism designed for international and non-governmental organizations carrying out assistance and relief activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. As such, the Committee has provided exemptions in the past to facilitate humanitarian and banking activities.
The 1718 Committee appreciates the efforts by Member States to fully and comprehensively implement relevant Security Council resolutions, while keeping in mind the need to clarify to public and private sector entities in their jurisdiction in order to make them aware of the humanitarian exemptions contained therein, as well as the need to avoid unduly restricting the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The 1718 Committee calls upon all humanitarian actors to work closely with all concerned Member States on humanitarian activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and observe relevant regulations and procedures of the concerned Member States with a view to smoothly providing the humanitarian assistance to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The humanitarian actors are also called upon to proactively engage with the 1718 Committee to seek exemptions and provide timely information as appropriate. Furthermore, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea authorities and other relevant Member States are encouraged to facilitate the work of humanitarian actors delivering assistance to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as called for in relevant Security Council resolutions.
The 1718 Committee reiterates that the primary responsibility to protect the people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea lies with the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The 1718 Committee stands ready to assist Member States in the implementation of the measures in the achievement of the objectives of resolutions 1718 (2006), 1874 (2009), 2087 (2013), 2094 (2013), 2270 (2016), 2321 (2016), 2356 (2017), 2371 (2017) and 2375 (2017).