Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions - Angola) Repeal Regulations 2003

Overview

The Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions - Angola) Repeal Regulations 2003 were enacted by the Minister for Foreign Affairs under the authority granted by Section 6 of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945. These Regulations were introduced in response to the United Nations Security Council's Resolution 1448 (2002), which terminated the sanctions against Angola that had been imposed by earlier resolutions in 1993, 1997 and 1998. These sanctions were enacted to address the civil conflict in Angola and the actions of the Angolan rebel group Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA). With the resolution of these issues, the Regulations serve to repeal the existing sanctions measures in Australia that were implemented to comply with the terminated resolutions. The primary policy objective of these Regulations is to ensure that Australian law is aligned with the current international sanctions regime as determined by the United Nations Security Council.

Scope and Application

The Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions – Angola) Repeal Regulations 2003 applies to any person or entity within Australia, including individuals, corporations, and non-governmental organisations, by repealing the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions – Angola) Regulations 1994 and amending the Foreign Affairs Legislation Amendment (Application of Criminal Code) Regulations 2002 (No. 1). These Regulations are made under the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945, which allows the Governor-General to implement decisions of the United Nations Security Council that do not involve the use of armed force. The Regulations respond to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1448 (2002), which terminated sanctions against Angola previously imposed by Resolutions 864 (1993), 1127 (1997) and 1173 (1998). The scope of the Regulations is national, applying throughout Australia, and they came into effect on gazettal. There are no exclusions or thresholds specified within the Regulations themselves, though their effect is to repeal existing measures and amend another regulation, thereby effectively removing the legal basis for sanctions against Angola.

Key Provisions

The Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions - Angola) Repeal Regulations 2003 (No. 21) is a set of regulations designed to repeal and amend existing legislation in line with a recent United Nations Security Council resolution. Section 2 of the Regulations specifies that they come into effect on the day they are registered. Regulation 3 repeals the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions - Angola) Regulations 1994 (No. 156), 1997 (No. 392) and 1999 (No. 207), which were put in place to enforce United Nations sanctions against Angola. Regulation 4 repeals Regulation 3 and Schedule 1 of the Foreign Affairs Legislation Amendment (Application of Criminal Code) Regulations 2002 (No. 1) (No. 37), further aligning Australian law with the updated international stance on Angola. The Regulations impose obligations on individuals and entities in Australia to cease any activities that were previously restricted under the repealed regulations. This includes ceasing to provide certain services, goods, or financial resources to entities or individuals that were subject to sanctions under the former regime. Furthermore, they must ensure compliance with any outstanding obligations under the repealed regulations, such as reporting or freezing assets, within the stipulated timeframes. Breach of the repealed regulations, which were enforced to align with United Nations mandates, could result in civil and criminal penalties. Under the repealed Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions - Angola) Regulations 1994, violations could lead to substantial fines and imprisonment. Specifically, the maximum penalty for contravening certain sanctions could be up to 5,000 penalty units or imprisonment for five years, or both, depending on the severity and intent of the violation. The Regulations themselves do not introduce new penalties but ensure that compliance with the now-repealed sanctions remains an obligation until formally removed by these Regulations.