Explanatory Statement
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Foreign Affairs
Charter of the United Nations Act 1945
Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Amendment Declaration 2017 (No. 1)
The purpose of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Amendment Declaration 2017 (No.1) (Amendment Declaration) is to make a consequential amendments to the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Declaration 2008 (Declaration) to reflect the repealing of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions – Cote d’Ivoire) Regulations 2008 (Cote d’Ivoire Regulations) and regulation 4N of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (Customs Regulations).
Sub-sections 27(1) and (5) of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (the Act) provides respectively that individuals and bodies corporate commit an offence if they engage in conduct that contravenes a UN sanction enforcement law. ‘UN sanction enforcement law’ is defined in section 2 of the Act to mean a provision that is specified in an instrument under sub-section 2B(1) of the Act.
By item 1 of Schedule 1 of the Amendment Declaration, the Minister substitutes the existing Schedule 1 of the Declaration with a replacement Schedule 1. The replacement Schedule 1 specifies the provisions of Commonwealth laws that are UN sanction enforcement laws pursuant to sub-section 2B(1) of the Act for the purposes of section 27. The substitute Schedule removes references to all of the provisions of the Cote d’Ivoire Regulations. In accordance with section 8 of the Act, the Cote d’Ivoire Regulations ceased to have effect with the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2283 (2016) on 28 April 2016 (New York time, being 29 April 2016 in Canberra). The cessation of UN Security Council sanctions on Cote d’Ivoire resulted in the Cote d’Ivoire Regulations being repealed.
The substitute Schedule also removes reference to regulation 4N of the Customs Regulations. Regulation 4N of the Customs Regulations imposed an absolute prohibition on the importation of rough diamonds from Cote d’Ivoire. The regulation was originally introduced to give domestic effect to Australia’s international obligations pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1643 (2005) to prohibit the importation of rough diamonds from certain countries including Cote d’Ivoire. However, the UN Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2153 (2014) on 29 April 2014 lifted the sanctions imposed by Resolution 1643 (2005). Regulation 4N of the Customs Regulations was repealed by the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Amendment (Cote d’Ivoire Rough Diamonds) Regulation 2015.
No public consultation was undertaken under section 17 of the Legislation Act 2003 before this instrument was made as the instrument represents a minor amendment and does not substantially alter existing arrangements, in accordance with section 17(2) of the Legislation Act 2003.
Details of the Legislative Instrument are set out in the Annex.
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 (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Amendment Declaration 2017 (No. 1)
The purpose of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Amendment Declaration 2017 (No.1) (Amendment Declaration) is to make a consequential amendments to the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Declaration 2008 (Declaration) to reflect the repealing of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions – Cote d’Ivoire) Regulations 2008 (Cote d’Ivoire Regulations) and regulation 4N of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (Customs Regulations).
Sub-sections 27(1) and (5) of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (the Act) provides respectively that individuals and bodies corporate commit an offence if they engage in conduct that contravenes a UN sanction enforcement law. ‘UN sanction enforcement law’ is defined in section 2 of the Act to mean a provision that is specified in an instrument under sub-section 2B(1) of the Act.
By item 1 of Schedule 1 of the Amendment Declaration, the Minister substitutes the existing Schedule 1 of the Declaration with a replacement Schedule 1. The replacement Schedule 1 specifies the provisions of Commonwealth laws that are UN sanction enforcement laws pursuant to sub-section 2B(1) of the Act for the purposes of section 27. The substitute Schedule removes references to all of the provisions of the Cote d’Ivoire Regulations. In accordance with section 8 of the Act, the Cote d’Ivoire Regulations ceased to have effect with the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2283 (2016) on 28 April 2016 (New York time, being 29 April 2016 in Canberra). The cessation of UN Security Council sanctions on Cote d’Ivoire resulted in the Cote d’Ivoire Regulations being repealed.
The substitute Schedule also removes reference to regulation 4N of the Customs Regulations. Regulation 4N of the Customs Regulations imposed an absolute prohibition on the importation of rough diamonds from Cote d’Ivoire. The regulation was originally introduced to give domestic effect to Australia’s international obligations pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1643 (2005) to prohibit the importation of rough diamonds from certain countries including Cote d’Ivoire. However, the UN Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2153 (2014) on 29 April 2014 lifted the sanctions imposed by Resolution 1643 (2005). Regulation 4N of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 was repealed by the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Amendment (Cote d’Ivoire Rough Diamonds) Regulation 2015.
These consequential amendments made by the Amendment Declaration do not engage, and are therefore 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.
Annex
Details of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Amendment Declaration 2017 (No. 1)
Paragraph 1 of the Amendment Declaration provides that the name of the Amendment Declaration is the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Amendment Declaration 2017 (No. 1) (Amendment Declaration).
Paragraph 2 provides that the Amendment Declaration and Schedule 1 of the Amendment Declaration shall commence on the day after it is registered.
Paragraph 3 provides that Schedule 1 of the Amendment Declaration amends the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Declaration 2008.
Schedule 1, item 1 substitutes a new Schedule 1 of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Declaration 2008 to remove reference to all of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions-Cote d’Ivoire) Regulations 2008 (Cote d’Ivoire Regulations) as well as regulation 4N of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956 (Customs Regulations). The cessation of UN Security Council sanctions on Cote d’Ivoire under UN Security Council Resolution 2283 (2016) has resulted in the Cote d’Ivoire Regulations being repealed. The UN Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2153 (2014) lifted the sanctions imposed by Resolution 1643 (2005). Given regulation 4N of the Customs Regulation was originally introduced to give domestic effect to Australia’s international obligations pursuant to Resolution 1643 (2005), regulation 4N has now been repealed.