Explanatory Statement
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Foreign Affairs
Charter of the United Nations Act 1945
Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran) (Specified Entities) List Instrument of Repeal 2016)
Section 6 of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations to give effect to decisions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations (the Charter) that Australia is required to carry out under Article 25 of the Charter in so far as those decisions require Australia to apply measures not involving the use of armed force. Section 6(2)(g) of the Act also allows the regulations to authorise the making of legislative instruments.
The purpose of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran) (Specified Entities)
List Instrument of Repeal 2016) (Repeal Instrument) is to repeal, in its entirety, the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran)(Specified Entities) List 2010, a legislative instrument that created a list of entities, specified by the Foreign Minister made under s17E of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran) Regulations 2008.
The Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran)(Specified Entities) List 2010 partially represented the discharge of Australia’s legal obligation under paragraph 22 of the UN Security Council Resolution 1929 (2010). This resolution determined that all States shall required their nationals, persons subject to their jurisdiction and firms incorporated in their territory or subject to their jurisdiction to exercise vigilance when doing business with entities incorporated in Iran or subject to Iran’s jurisdiction, including those of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), and any individuals or entities acting on their behalf or at their direction, and entities owned or controlled by them, including through illicit means, if they have information that provides reasonable grounds to believe that such business could contribute to Iran’s proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities or the development of nuclear weapons delivery systems or to violations of resolutions 1737, 1747, 1803 or 1929.
Through the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), the international community has agreed to terminate resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008), 1835 (2008), 1929 (2010) and 2224 (2015). Following this international agreement to no longer maintain the full range of UN sanctions imposed in relation to Iran, the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions - Iran) (Specified Entities) List 2010 is repealed in its entirety.
No public consultation was undertaken in relation to the Repeal Instrument under section 17 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 before this instrument was made as the instrument removes obligations on the Australian community and implements Australia’s international legal obligations arising from the decisions of the UN Security Council.
Details of the Legislative Instrument are set out in the Attachment.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran) (Specified Entities) List Instrument of Repeal 2016)
The Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran) (Specified Entities) List Instrument of Repeal 2016) (Repeal Instrument) is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. This is because the Repeal Instrument repeals the full list of Iranian specified entities allowing the Australian community to undertake business with those entities named in the list whereas previously such business activities were prohibited under the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran) Regulations 2008.
Attachment
Details of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran) (Specified Entities) List Instrument of Repeal 2016
Section 1 – Name of Regulation
Section 1 provides that the name of the instrument is the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran) (Specified Entities) List Instrument of Repeal 2016.
Section 2 – Commencement
Section 2 provides that the legislative instrument commences on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Section 3 – Repeal
Section 3 provides that the instrument repeals the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Iran) (Specified Entities) List 2010.