2022-01-01
The President of the State of Palestine issued Decree No. 14 of 2022 to establish a dedicated committee tasked with implementing UN Security Council resolutions on counter-terrorism and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The decree mandates the committee to maintain national and UN sanction lists, enforce asset freezes, process delisting requests, and ensure financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions comply with reporting and freezing obligations within strict 16-hour deadlines. It further outlines the committee's composition, procedural rules, and authority to propose listings to UN sanctions committees based on reasonable grounds for suspicion regarding ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban.
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette 83 Reference No.: 193-8-2022 Issue 193 2022/08/14 Decree No. (14) of 2022 Concerning the Implementation of Security Council Resolutions
President of the State of Palestine Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization
Based on the Basic Statute of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Amended Basic Law of 2003 and its amendments, after reviewing Law-Decree No. (39) of 2022 on combating money laundering and terrorist financing, and Law-Decree No. (41) of 2020 on administrative courts and its amendments, and UN Security Council resolutions concerning terrorist financing related to organizing ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and their affiliates, and the Taliban and their affiliates, and UN Security Council resolutions concerning the prevention, suppression, and disruption of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their financing issued under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, and based on the powers vested in us, and in the public interest, and to achieve we hereby decree:
Chapter One Definitions and General Provisions
Article (1) Definitions
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette 84 Reference No.: 193-8-2022 Issue 193 2022/08/14 Entity: Any aggregation, group, organization, partnership, or undertaking, and any other person or group of persons that does not possess legal personality. Basic expenses: Expenses that the Committee deems necessary for the sustenance of the listed person or entity or a member of their family, including amounts paid for food, medicines, medical treatment, rent or mortgage, taxes, insurance premiums, utility service fees or reasonable professional fees, and repayment of expenses exclusively related to securing legal services, or fees or charges related to the ordinary maintenance of frozen funds or other assets due to the trustee, custodian, or manager of such funds or assets in accordance with the laws in force in the State of Palestine. Exceptional expenses: Expenses that the Committee does not consider among the basic expenses. Diplomatic channels: Methods of communication with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, such as communication through Palestinian embassies abroad, the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, or foreign embassies within the State of Palestine. Financial services or other related services: Any service of a financial nature, including, but not limited to:
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette 85 Reference No.: 193-8-2022 Issue 193 2022/08/14 . Trading in the following instruments, whether for the account of the private person, for the account of clients, or on an official or off-exchange market, including:
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette 86 Reference No.: 193-8-2022 Issue 193 2022/08/14 Relevant Security Council resolutions: Resolutions issued by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter concerning the fight against and prevention of terrorism or terrorist financing or proliferation financing, including, but not limited to, Resolutions (1267) of 1999, (1373) of 2001, (2253) of 2015, (1718) of 2006, (1874) of 2009, (2087) of 2013, (2094) of 2013, (2231) of 2015, (2270) of 2016, (2321) of 2016, (2356) of 2017, and all associated, current, future, and subsequent resolutions. Sanctions committees: The sanctions committees established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolutions No. (1267) of 1999 and (1989) of 2011 and (2253) of 2015 concerning Al-Qaeda and ISIS and their affiliates, the sanctions committee established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution No. (1718) of 2006 concerning the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or the sanctions committee established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution (1988) of 2011 concerning the Taliban and their affiliates. Security Council: The United Nations Security Council. UN List: A list of all persons and entities subject to targeted financial sanctions pursuant to relevant Security Council resolutions and maintained by any of the sanctions committees, and any other person or entity subject to targeted financial sanctions pursuant to Security Council resolutions concerning the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or financing of proliferation, in addition to all information regarding their identification. Freezing: A prohibition on transferring, converting, disposing of, or moving funds or other assets, equipment, or other means when owned or controlled by listed persons or entities pursuant to applicable relevant Security Council resolutions, or according to procedures initiated by the Committee, and during the duration of those procedures and resolutions. Delisting: Removing or deleting the name of a person or entity from the UN List or the National Listing. Written notice or written request: A notice or request submitted in writing, whether by paper copy via mail or courier or fax, or by electronic copy via email, internet, or electronic portal. 2. The words and expressions in this Decree not specified in paragraph (1) of this Article shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Law.
Chapter Two Committee for the Implementation of Security Council Resolutions
Article (2) Committee for the Implementation of Security Council Resolutions
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette 87 Reference No.: 193-8-2022 Issue 193 2022/08/14 . Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit as a member. . Director of Supervision at the Palestinian Monetary Authority as a member. . Director General of the Capital Market Authority as a member. . Chairman of the Lands Authority as a member. . Representative of the General Intelligence as a member. . Representative of the Preventive Security as a member. . Director of the National Central Bureau "Interpol Palestine" as a member. 2. The member representing items (k) and (l) of paragraph (1) of this Article must be of a senior rank, appointed by the head of the respective agency. 3. Any other entity may be represented on the Committee if necessary, by a decision of the President upon the proposal of the Committee Chair.
Article (3) Committee Competencies
The Committee shall have the following competencies to carry out its duties under this Decree:
Article (4) Committee Secretariat
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette 88 Reference No.: 193-8-2022 Issue 193 2022/08/14 . Collecting information on persons or entities whose listing has been proposed or who have submitted requests for delisting, analyzing this information, and submitting it to the Committee for review in accordance with this Decree. . Receiving requests submitted pursuant to Articles (16, 17, 18, 19) of this Decree, analyzing them, and submitting them to the Committee for review. . Keeping the Committee's minutes and records. 2. The Secretariat shall be attached to the Human Resources of the Public Prosecution and provided with the necessary resources to perform its duties. 3. The Secretariat shall coordinate with all entities represented on the Committee to ensure the implementation of obligations and duties stipulated in this Decree.
Article (5) Committee Meetings
Chapter Three Security Council Resolution (1267), Subsequent Resolutions, and Proliferation Financing
Article (6) Committee's Responsibility regarding Lists Approved by UN Sanctions Committees
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette 89 Reference No.: 193-8-2022 Issue 193 2022/08/14 . For the purposes of applying paragraph (1) of this Article, the following shall be observed: . The dissemination specified in items (a, b) of paragraph (1) of this Article shall include guidelines or a link to guidelines on the obligations of financial institutions and non-financial businesses and professions specified, and any other person or entity, to act and take necessary measures to implement or raise freezing and prohibition measures pursuant to this Decree. . The publication and dissemination specified in item (b) of paragraph (1) of this Article shall include the name of the person or entity listed or delisted from the UN List, the name of every person or entity on the UN List subject to amendment, full listing information, and any explanatory summary related to that listing. . For persons or entities newly listed on the UN List, the publication and dissemination specified in item (b) of paragraph (1) of this Article shall include guidelines or a link to guidelines on submitting a delisting request to the UN Office of the Ombudsperson or the UN focal point for delisting, as appropriate, pursuant to paragraph (1) of Article (8) of this Decree. . Publish the UN List and its amendments in the Official Gazette.
Article (7) Authority to Propose Listing to UN Sanctions Committees
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette 90 Reference No.: 193-8-2022 Issue 193 2022/08/14 . Recruiting on behalf of the Taliban in a manner threatening peace, stability, and security in Afghanistan. . Supporting the Taliban in a manner threatening peace, stability, and security in Afghanistan in any other way. . Any person or entity owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by any person or entity listed pursuant to the criteria mentioned in items (w, x, y, z) of paragraph (1) of this Article, or any person acting on behalf of or at the direction of such persons or entities. 2. The Committee shall follow the procedures and forms approved by the relevant sanctions committees for listing. 3. The Committee shall secure as much information as possible about the proposed name to accurately identify the person or entity, including the following elements: . For natural persons: Full name, any aliases or pseudonyms, date of birth, nationality, gender, family member names if available, work or job information, country or countries of residence, passport number, ID card number, current address, and previous addresses. . For legal persons or entities: Name, trade name, abbreviation, any other names currently or previously known by, headquarters address, branches, subsidiaries, organizational links, ownership and management/control structure, parent company name, nature of work or commercial activity, country or countries of activity, registration or establishment number, or any other identifying number and website, and the entity's status regarding liquidation or dissolution must be specified. 4. The listing request must include a statement of reasons containing details on the basis for proposing listing on the UN List, information on meeting the listing criteria, and any supporting information or documents, including any links between the proposed person and any other listed person or entity, except for parts designated by the Committee as confidential and for the Security Council only. The statement of reasons must be suitable for publication pursuant to procedures adopted by the sanctions committee or Security Council. 5. The listing request must specify whether the State of Palestine wishes to be identified as the submitting state. 6. The Committee shall exercise its authority under paragraph (1) of this Article regardless of whether a criminal case exists. 7. The proposal must be unilateral without prior notice to the concerned person or entity.
Article (8) Delisting by a UN Sanctions Committee
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette 91 Reference No.: 193-8-2022 Issue 193 2022/08/14 2. The Committee shall forward requests approved or issued under paragraph (1) of this Article to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for referral to the Security Council or relevant sanctions committee, or to the UN Office of the Ombudsperson or UN focal point for delisting, as appropriate, in accordance with procedures in force in the Security Council or relevant sanctions committee. 3. The Committee shall receive requests for information or additional inputs regarding delisting requests submitted by a listed person or entity or another state through the UN Office of the Ombudsperson, UN focal point for delisting, Security Council, or relevant sanctions committee. 4. The Committee shall review requests within the timeframe specified by the UN Office of the Ombudsperson, UN focal point for delisting, Security Council, or relevant sanctions committee, and provide a response, indicating as appropriate whether, in its opinion, the name of that listed person or entity may be deleted. It may obtain additional information from any authority, financial institution, or specified non-financial business or profession within the specified timeframe. 5. The Committee may, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, submit to the Security Council, relevant sanctions committee, or UN focal point for delisting, a request to delist deceased persons on the list, with relevant documents. It may submit a similar request with relevant documents for entities that no longer exist or have no actual activity. Before submitting any such request, the Committee must take appropriate measures to ensure that any heirs or beneficiaries of the funds or other assets to be unfrozen are not listed and do not meet the listing criteria in Articles (7) or (10) of this Decree, and inform the Security Council, relevant sanctions committee, UN Office of the Ombudsperson, or UN focal point for delisting accordingly. 6. If a listed name is deleted for a Palestinian citizen, a person residing in the State of Palestine, or a person or entity with a workplace or residence in the State of Palestine, the Committee shall notify the person or entity in writing of the deletion of their listed name.
Article (9) Providing Information to the Security Council or Relevant Sanctions Committees
The Committee shall inform the Security Council or sanctions committees, as appropriate, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, of the following information:
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Article (10) National Listing