2022-01-01
The President of the State of Palestine issued Decree No. 14 of 2022 to implement United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding counter-terrorism and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The decree establishes the Committee for the Implementation of Security Council Resolutions, chaired by the Attorney General, with specific powers to maintain national and UN sanction lists and enforce asset freezes. It mandates strict reporting timelines, defines legal terms for financial and non-financial sectors, and outlines procedures for proposing new listings or requesting delistings from relevant UN bodies.
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette Office Reference No: 193-8-2022 Issue No. 193, 2022/08/14
Decree No. (14) of the Year 2022
Concerning the Implementation of Security Council Resolutions
The President of the State of Palestine Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization
Based on the Statute of the Palestine Liberation Organization, And the Basic Law amended for the year 2003 and its amendments, And after reviewing Law-Decree No. (39) of the year 2022 concerning the combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, And Law-Decree No. (41) of the year 2020 concerning Administrative Courts and its amendments, And the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council concerning the financing of terrorism related to the organization of Daesh (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, and entities linked to them, and the organization of the Taliban and those linked to it, And the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council concerning the prevention, suppression, and disruption of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their financing, issued under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, And based on the powers vested in us, And in the public interest, And to achieve We have decreed as follows:
Chapter One Definitions and General Provisions
Article (1) Definitions
The President: The President of the State of Palestine, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
The Law: The Law-Decree concerning the combating of money laundering and the financing of terrorism in force.
The Committee: The Committee for the Implementation of Security Council Resolutions established in accordance with the Law.
Funds or other assets: Assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, including but not limited to oil and other natural resources, and property of all types, whether physical or non-physical, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible, regardless of the method of acquisition, and virtual assets, and documents or legal instruments of any form, including electronic or digital, indicating ownership rights to such funds or assets or a share or benefit therein, and circulating currencies and foreign currencies, bank credits, traveler's checks, bank checks, payment orders, financial instruments, money transfers, shares, securities, bonds, bills of exchange, promissory notes, financial instruments, letters of credit, and any interest, income, share in profits, or any other income or value due from or derived from these funds, and any other assets that may be used to obtain funds or other assets or goods or services.
Person: A natural person or a legal entity.
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 one of its family members, including amounts paid for food, medicines, medical treatment, rent or mortgage, taxes, insurance premiums, utility service fees, or reasonable professional fees, and reimbursement of expenses exclusively related to securing legal services, or fees or charges related to the normal 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 as basic expenses.
Diplomatic Channels: Methods of communication with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, such as communication through Palestinian embassies abroad or 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:
Insurance services and insurance-related services: a. Direct life insurance and other types of insurance (excluding life insurance) (including co-insurance or mutual insurance). b. Reinsurance and retrocession and assignment of reinsurance. c. Insurance brokerage, such as brokerage and agency. d. Insurance support services, such as consulting, actuarial, risk assessment, and claims settlement services. e. Consulting, brokerage, and other financial support services for all activities specified in items (a, b, c, d) of this paragraph, including classification, credit analysis, and research, and providing investment and portfolio advice, and advising on corporate acquisitions, restructuring, and strategies.
Banking and other financial services: a. Acceptance of deposits and other payable funds from the public, including specialized banking services. b. Lending of all types, including consumer loans, mortgage loans, and trade financing. c. Financial leasing. d. All payment and money transfer services, including debit cards, traveler's checks, bank drafts, and money or value transfer services. e. Financial guarantees and financial commitments. f. Trading in the following instruments, whether for the account of the private person, for the account of its clients, or in the official exchange market or outside it, including:
Listing: Identifying a person or entity as subject to targeted financial sanctions pursuant to Articles (13) and (14) of this Decree, or parallel provisions in other laws and jurisdictions.
Listing Information: The name of the listed person or entity and all identification information associated with it.
National Listing List: The list prepared in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.
Proliferation Financing: Financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Reasonable Grounds for Suspicion: The grounds that enable the Committee to make clear and timely decisions regarding whether the names proposed for listing on the lists of the sanctions committees established pursuant to Resolutions (1267) and (1989) or the committee established pursuant to Resolution (1988), or the names proposed for listing or required to be listed by local or other foreign authorities on the National Listing List, or the names listed on the National Listing List that the Committee requests other countries to list on their lists, meet the listing criteria for those lists, such that the information available to the Committee is credible, sufficiently detailed, from multiple sources, and coherent with each other, so that the data is consistent and does not contradict any other detailed and credible information available to the Committee.
Relevant Security Council Resolutions: Resolutions issued by the United Nations Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations concerning the combating and prevention of terrorism or the financing of terrorism or the financing of proliferation, 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 related, current, future, and subsequent resolutions.
Sanctions Committees: The sanctions committees established pursuant to Security Council Resolutions No. (1267) of 1999 and (1989) of 2011 and (2253) of 2015 concerning Al-Qaeda and Daesh and entities linked to them, the sanctions committee established pursuant to Security Council Resolution No. (1718) of 2006 concerning the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or the sanctions committee established pursuant to Security Council Resolution (1988) of 2011 concerning the Taliban organization and those linked to it.
Security Council: The United Nations Security Council.
United Nations List: A list of all persons and entities who have been subject to targeted financial sanctions pursuant to relevant Security Council resolutions and are maintained by any of the sanctions committees, and any other person or entity subject to targeted financial sanctions pursuant to Security Council resolutions related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or the financing of proliferation, in addition to all information specific to their identification.
Freezing: Prohibiting the transfer, conversion, disposition, or movement of funds, other assets, equipment, or other means, or dealing with them, when they are owned or controlled by listed persons or entities pursuant to relevant Security Council resolutions applicable to measures initiated by the Security Council or in accordance with procedures initiated by the Committee, and during the duration of those measures and resolutions.
Delisting: Deleting or removing the name of a person or entity from the United Nations List or the National Listing List.
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.
Chapter Two Committee for the Implementation of Security Council Resolutions
Article (2) Committee for the Implementation of Security Council Resolutions
A committee named "The Committee for the Implementation of Security Council Resolutions" shall be formed, consisting of: a. The Attorney General as Chairman. b. The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates as a member. c. The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice as a member. d. The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior as a member. e. The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance as a member. f. The Registrar of Companies as a member. g. The Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit as a member. h. The Director of Supervision at the Palestinian Monetary Authority as a member. i. The Director General of the Capital Market Authority as a member. j. The Chairman of the Lands Authority as a member. k. A representative of the General Intelligence Agency as a member. l. A representative of the Preventive Security Agency as a member. m. The Director of the National Central Bureau "Interpol Palestine" as a member.
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.
Any other authority may be represented in the Committee's membership if necessary, by a decision of the President upon the proposal of the Committee Chairman.
Article (3) Powers of the Committee
The Committee shall have the following powers in order to perform its duties stipulated in this Decree:
Article (4) Committee Secretariat
The Committee shall have a secretariat responsible for performing the following tasks: a. Monitoring changes to the United Nations lists on relevant United Nations websites, to be published and disseminated by the Committee in accordance with this Decree. b. Maintaining the National Listing List and monitoring changes to it. c. Maintaining and updating all elements of the Committee's website. d. Preparing the United Nations List and the National Listing List and any amendments to each, to be published in the Official Gazette in accordance with this Decree. e. Receiving correspondence, including listing requests or information requests from local authorities, foreign authorities, and the United Nations through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. f. Sending correspondence, including information requests to local authorities, foreign authorities, and the United Nations through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. g. Collecting information about 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 consideration in accordance with this Decree. h. Receiving requests submitted pursuant to Articles (16, 17, 18, 19) of this Decree, analyzing them, and submitting them to the Committee for consideration. i. Keeping the Committee's minutes and records.
The Secretariat shall be attached to the Human Resources in the Public Prosecution and provided with the necessary resources to perform its duties.
The Secretariat shall coordinate with all authorities represented in the Committee to ensure the implementation of obligations and duties stipulated in this Decree.
Article (5) Committee Meetings
The Committee shall meet periodically every three months, and may hold extraordinary meetings upon the call of the Committee Chairman or upon the request of at least six members.
A Committee meeting shall be quorate with the presence of a majority of its members (50% + 1), including the Committee Chairman.
Committee decisions shall be issued by a majority vote of its attending members, and in case of a tie, the vote of the Chairperson of the meeting shall prevail.
Committee meetings and decisions shall be documented in writing in official minutes signed by the Committee Chairman and attending members.
The Committee shall issue an internal regulation determining the mechanisms for holding meetings, invitations, minutes, and all related matters.
Chapter Three Security Council Resolution (1267) and its subsequent resolutions and resolutions related to the financing of proliferation
Article (6) Committee's Responsibility Regarding Lists Approved by UN Sanctions Committees
The Committee shall, based on the United Nations List or amendments thereto, including any additions, deletions, or modifications to listing information, perform the following tasks: a. Publish the United Nations List on the Committee's website and disseminate it to supervisory authorities, competent authorities, financial institutions, and non-financial businesses and professions specified within (16) hours of the entry into force of this Decree. b. Publish amendments to the United Nations List, including any additions, deletions, or changes to listing information, on the Committee's website and disseminate them to supervisory authorities, competent authorities, financial institutions, and non-financial businesses and professions specified within (16) hours of the publication of these amendments on the relevant United Nations website.
For the purposes of applying the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article, the following shall be observed: a. The dissemination specified in items (a, b) of paragraph (1) of this Article shall include guidelines or a link to guidelines regarding the obligations of financial institutions, 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 in accordance with this Decree. b. 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 United Nations List, and the name of any person or entity added to the United Nations List with amendments, along with full listing information and any explanatory summary related to that listing. c. For persons or entities newly listed on the United Nations List, the publication and dissemination specified in item (b) of paragraph (1) of this Article shall include guidelines or a link to guidelines regarding the submission of a request for delisting to the Office of the Ombudsman of the United Nations or the United Nations Coordinator for Delisting, as appropriate, in accordance with paragraph (1) of Article (8) of this Decree. d. Publish the United Nations List and amendments thereto in the Official Gazette.
Article (7) Authority to Propose Listing to UN Sanctions Committees
The Committee may, on its own initiative or upon request from one of the authorities in the State of Palestine, propose the listing of a person or entity on the lists of the sanctions committees established pursuant to Resolutions (1267 and 1989) or the committee established pursuant to Resolution (1988), if it determines that there are reasonable grounds for suspicion or belief that the person or entity meets any of the following listing criteria: a. Participating in the financing of any act, activity, planning, facilitating, preparing, or executing acts by Daesh or Al-Qaeda, or in cooperation with them, on their behalf, or on their behalf, or in support of them or any cell, group affiliated with them, or split from or branching off from them. b. Supplying, selling, or transferring arms or related materials to Daesh or Al-Qaeda or any cell, group affiliated with them, or split from or branching off from them. c. Recruiting on behalf of Daesh or Al-Qaeda or any cell, group affiliated with them, or split from or branching off from them. d. Supporting the acts or activities of Daesh or Al-Qaeda or any cell, group affiliated with them, or split from or branching off from them in any other way. e. Any person or entity that is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by any person or entity listed pursuant to the criteria mentioned in items (a, b, c, d) of paragraph (1) of this Article, or any person acting on behalf of or at the direction of any of these persons or entities. f. Participating in the financing of any act, activity, planning, facilitating, preparing, or executing acts by the Taliban, or in cooperation with them, on their behalf, or on their behalf, or in support of them, in threatening peace, stability, and security in Afghanistan. g. Supplying, selling, or transferring arms or related materials to the Taliban in threatening peace, stability, and security in Afghanistan. h. Recruiting on behalf of the Taliban in threatening peace, stability, and security in Afghanistan. i. Supporting the Taliban in forming a threat to peace, stability, and security in Afghanistan in any other way. j. Any person or entity that is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by any person or entity listed pursuant to the criteria mentioned in items (f, g, h, i) of paragraph (1) of this Article, or any person acting on behalf of or at the direction of any of these persons or entities.
The Committee shall follow the procedures and forms approved by the relevant sanctions committees for listing.
The Committee shall secure as much information as possible about the proposed name to accurately identify the person or entity, such that the information includes the following elements: a. For natural persons: The full name of the person and any alias or pseudonym, date of birth, nationality, gender, names of family members if available, information about employment or occupation, country or countries of residence, passport number, ID card number, current address, and previous addresses. b. For legal persons or entities: The name, trade name, abbreviation, and any other names by which they are currently known or were previously known, the address of the headquarters, branches, subsidiaries, organizational links, ownership and management structure, name of the parent company, nature of work or commercial activity, country or countries of activity, registration or incorporation number, or any other number identifying the entity and the website, and it must be specified whether the entity is in liquidation or dissolution.
The listing request must include a statement of reasons containing details regarding the basis for the proposed listing on the United Nations List, information regarding the fulfillment of listing criteria, and any supporting information or documents, including any association of the proposed listed person with any other listed person or entity, except for any parts determined by the Committee as confidential and for the Security Council only, and the statement of reasons must be suitable for publication in accordance with procedures adopted in the relevant sanctions committee or Security Council.
The listing request must specify whether the State of Palestine wishes to be identified as the state submitting the listing request.
The Committee shall exercise its authority stipulated in paragraph (1) of this Article regardless of whether a criminal case exists or not.
The proposal must be made unilaterally without prior notice to the concerned person or entity.
Article (8) Delisting by a UN Sanctions Committee
Any person or entity listed by the sanctions committees who holds Palestinian citizenship or resides in the State of Palestine or has a place of work or residence in the State of Palestine may submit a request for delisting directly to the Office of the Ombudsman of the United Nations or the United Nations Coordinator for Delisting, as appropriate, or do so through the Committee with its approval. The Committee may, on its own initiative if it deems its work justified, submit a delisting request either on behalf of a Palestinian citizen or a person residing in the State of Palestine or a person or entity with a place of work or residence in the State of Palestine or any other person or entity that no longer, in the Committee's opinion, meets the listing criteria.
The Committee shall refer requests it approves or issues pursuant to paragraph (1) of this Article to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, to refer them to the Security Council or the relevant sanctions committee or to the Office of the Ombudsman of the United Nations or the United Nations Coordinator for Delisting, as appropriate, in accordance with procedures in force in the Security Council or the relevant sanctions committee.
The Committee shall receive requests for information or additional inputs related to delisting requests submitted by a listed person or entity or another state through the Office of the Ombudsman of the United Nations or the United Nations Coordinator for Delisting or the Security Council or the relevant sanctions committee.
The Committee shall review requests within the period specified by the Office of the Ombudsman or the United Nations Coordinator for Delisting or the Security Council or the relevant sanctions committee, and provide a response to that entity, mentioning as appropriate, whether in its opinion the name of that listed person or entity may be deleted. In this regard, it may obtain additional information from any authority, financial institution, or non-financial business or profession as defined by law, within the specified period.
The Committee may, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, submit to the Security Council or the relevant sanctions committee or the United Nations Coordinator for Delisting, a request to delist deceased persons on the list, providing relevant documents. It may also 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 that will be unfrozen as a result of the delisting request are not listed and do not meet the listing criteria in Articles (7) or (10) of this Decree, and the Committee shall inform the Security Council or the relevant sanctions committee or the Office of the Ombudsman of the United Nations or the United Nations Coordinator for Delisting of this matter.
If a listed name is deleted for a Palestinian citizen or a person residing in the State of Palestine or a person or entity with a place of work or residence in the State of Palestine, the Committee shall, by written notice, notify the person or entity 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:
Article (10) National Listing
The Committee shall list a person or entity on the National Listing List if there are reasonable grounds for suspicion that they meet any of the following criteria: a. If a person or entity has committed, attempted, or facilitated a terrorist act. b. If the entity is owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by one or more persons or entities mentioned in item (a) of this paragraph. c. If a person or entity acts on behalf of or at the direction of one or more persons or entities mentioned in item (a) of this paragraph.
The Committee may consider listing requests from any local or foreign authority, provided that requests from foreign authorities are sent through diplomatic channels to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, which shall refer them to the Committee.
The Committee shall exercise its authority stipulated in paragraph (1) of this Article regardless of whether a criminal case exists or not.
The proposal must be made unilaterally without prior notice to the concerned person or entity.
The Committee shall create a list containing the names of persons and entities listed pursuant to this Article and maintain that list, known as the "National Listing List."
The National Listing List shall be published on the Committee's website and disseminated to supervisory authorities, competent authorities, other local authorities, financial institutions, and non-financial businesses and professions specified within (16) hours of the entry into force of this Decree.
Amendments to the National Listing List shall be published on the Committee's website, including any new listing, modification, or deletion of listing information, and disseminated to supervisory authorities, financial institutions, and non-financial businesses and professions as defined by law, within (16) hours of the decision being made.
mjr.lab.pna.ps Official Gazette Office Reference No: 193-8-2022 Issue No. 193, 2022/08/14
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