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 (No. 1) Instrument 2026

The Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (the Act) provides legislative approval for the Charter of the United Nations (the Charter) in Australian law. Section 6 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations to give effect to decisions of the United Nations Security Council (the UNSC) under Chapter VII of 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 2B of the Act provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, specify a provision of a law of the Commonwealth as a UN sanction enforcement law. Once specified, amongst other things:

• a person commits an offence if they engage in conduct that contravenes those provisions under section 27 of the Act;
• a person commits an offence if they give false or misleading information to a Commonwealth entity in connection with the administration of a UN sanction enforcement law under section 28 of the Act; and
• certain persons and entities, including the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, have powers relating to information, for a purpose in connection with the administration of those provisions under Part 6 of the Act.

The purposes of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2026 (the Instrument) is to update the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Declaration 2008 (the Declaration) to reflect the current list of prohibitions contained in regulations made under the Act, as UN sanction enforcement laws, taking into account amendments made by the Charter of the United Nations Legislation Amendment (Sanctions) Regulations 2026. It also renames the Declaration as the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Instrument 2008.

Details of the Instrument are set out at Attachment A.

No public consultation was undertaken in relation to the Instrument under section 17 of the Legislation Act 2003 (the Legislation Act) as it is intended to give effect to, and continue to implement Australia’s ongoing obligations under international law. Having regard to those obligations, consultation about the Instrument was considered not to be appropriate or reasonably practicable to undertake in the circumstances. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade conducts regular outreach to the Australian business community to explain Australian sanctions laws that implement UNSC sanctions.

The Office of Impact Analysis has advised that an Impact Analysis is not required for instruments of this nature (OIA23-06254).

Section 48A of the Legislation Act operates to automatically repeal a legislative instrument that has the sole purpose of amending or repealing another instrument. As this is the purpose of the Instrument, the Instrument will be automatically repealed by operation of section 48A and the sunsetting framework under Part 4 of the Legislation Act will not be engaged.

The Declaration, being the principal instrument being amended by the Instrument, is exempt from sunsetting under paragraph 54(2)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003 because table item 1 of section 11 of the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015 applies. This is because the primary purpose of the Declaration is to give effect to Australia’s international obligations arising from decisions of the UNSC that Article 25 of the Charter requires Australia to carry out.

A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights of the Instrument prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 is set out at Attachment B.

Attachment A

Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2026

Section 1

This section provides that the name of the instrument is the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2026 (the Instrument).

Section 2

This section provides that the Instrument commences the later of the day after the Instrument is registered and the day section 1 of the Charter of the United Nations Legislation Amendment (Sanctions) Regulations 2026 (the COTUNA Regulations) commences. 

Section 3

This section provides that the Instrument is made under subsection 2B(1) of the Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (the Act).

Section 4

This section provides that each instrument that is specified in Schedule 1 is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in Schedule 1 has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1 - Amendments

Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Declaration 2008

Item 1

This item omits “Declaration” and substitutes “Instrument” in section 1. This has the effect of renaming the principal instrument as the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Instrument 2008.  

Item 2

This item omits table items 1 and 2 of Schedule 1, and substitutes a new table item 1 specifying provisions of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions—Al-Shabaab) Regulations 2008.

This item reorganises the table of Schedule 1 in alphabetical order following the renaming of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions—Somalia) Regulations 2008.

Item 3

This item reorganises the table of Schedule 1 in alphabetical order by moving previous table item 1 to table item 8A.

Item 4

This item omits “13” and substitutes “12A” in table item 9. As a consequence of the COTUNA Regulations, the prohibition relating to controlled assets is now regulation 12A of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions—Lebanon) Regulations 2008.

Item 5

This item inserts “10A,” after “9,” to table item 10 to specify new regulation 10A of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions – Libya) Regulations 2011 as a UN sanction enforcement law. This item is consequential to the COTUNA Regulations.

Item 6

This item repeals table items 11 and 12.

This reflects that the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions – Mali) Regulations 2018 have been repealed. It also reorganises the table of Schedule 1 in alphabetical order following the renaming of the Charter of the United Nations (Sanctions—Somalia) Regulations 2008.

Item 7

This item reorganises the table of Schedule 1 in alphabetical order by moving previous table item 2 to table item 15A.

Item 8

This item amends table item 16 of Schedule 1 that are consequential to the COTUNA Regulations. The prohibition relating to a sanctioned service that was in section 4E, is now located in section 4F.  

Item 9

This item amends table item 17 of Schedule 1 that are consequential to the COTUNA Regulations.

This reflects that the United Nations no longer requires member states to ban certain exports to Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Eritrea. It also implements Australia’s obligations to ban certain exports to Haiti, Iraq, Somalia and South Sudan.

Item 10

This item amends table item 18 of Schedule 1 that are consequential to the COTUNA Regulations.

This reflects that the United Nations no longer requires member states to prohibit the importation of arms or related matériel from Eritrea. It also implements Australia’s obligations to ban the importation of charcoal from Somalia.

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 (No. 1) Instrument 2026

This Disallowable Legislative 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.

Overview of the Disallowable Legislative Instrument

The Charter of the United Nations Act 1945 (the Act) provides legislative approval for the Charter of the United Nations (the Charter) in Australian law. Section 6 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations to give effect to decisions of the United Nations Security Council (the UNSC) under Chapter VII of 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 2B of the Act provides that the Minister may, by legislative instrument, specify a provision of a law of the Commonwealth as a UN sanction enforcement law. Once specified, amongst other things:

• a person commits an offence if they engage in conduct that contravenes those provisions under section 27 of the Act;
• a person commits an offence if they give false or misleading information to a Commonwealth entity in connection with the administration of a UN sanction enforcement law under section 28 of the Act; and
• certain persons and entities, including the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, have powers relating to information, for a purpose in connection with the administration of those provisions under Part 6 of the Act.

The purpose of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2026 (the Instrument) is to update the Charter of the United Nations (UN Sanction Enforcement Law) Declaration 2008 to reflect the current list of prohibitions mentioned in regulations made under the Act, as UN sanction enforcement laws, taking into account amendments made by the Charter of the United Nations Legislation Amendment (Sanctions) Regulations 2026.

Human rights implications

The Instrument may engage the right to privacy in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the ICCPR). Article 17 of the ICCPR prohibits unlawful or arbitrary interferences with a person's privacy, family, home and correspondence.

The use of the term ‘arbitrary’ in the ICCPR means that any interferences with privacy must be in accordance with the provisions, aims and objectives of the ICCPR and should be reasonable in the individual circumstances. Arbitrariness connotes elements of injustice, unpredictability, unreasonableness, capriciousness and ‘unproportionality’.[1]

Part 6 of the Act confers a range of powers on entities, including the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to collect, use and disclose information for a purpose in connection with the administration of a UN sanction enforcement law. This may include information or an opinion about an individual.

• Section 30 of the Act provides that the CEO of a designated Commonwealth entity may, give a person a written notice requiring the person to give the CEO information or a document. Failure to comply with such a requirement constitutes an offence under section 32 of the Act.
• Section 35 provides for the copying, making a record or use of, and disclosure of information for a purpose in connection with the administration of a UN sanction enforcement law.

Permissible limitations

The Instrument is not an unlawful interference with an individual’s right to privacy.  The purposes for which these powers may be exercised is limited to a purpose in connection with the administration of a UN sanction enforcement law, or with a decision of the United Nations Security Council that Australia is required to carry out. This is a reasonable limitation on the right to privacy.

Conclusion

The Instrument is compatible with human rights because to the extent that it may limit human rights, those limitations are reasonable, necessary and proportionate.

[1] Manfred Nowak, United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: CCPR Commentary (NP Engel, 1993) 178.