On March 2, 2016, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations (UN Charter), adopted Resolution 2270 (2016) imposing additional sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a result of the systematic, ongoing and severe violations of past UNSC resolutions by the DPRK. The sanctions strengthen and modify measures that had been imposed by the UNSC in Resolution 1718 (2006), Resolution 1874 (2009), Resolution 2087 (2013) and Resolution 2094 (2013). Resolution 2270 was adopted in response to the fourth nuclear test conducted by the DPRK on January 6, 2016, which violated the previous resolutions. The implementation of UNSC Resolution 2270 (2016) in Canadian law requires amendments to the Regulations Implementing the United Nations Resolutions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
These Regulations implement the decisions of Security Council Resolution 2270 not already incorporated in Canadian domestic legislation. In accordance with Security Council Resolution 2270 (2016), the Regulations:
- expand the arms embargo to prohibit the transfer of small arms and light weapons to the DPRK;
- prohibit teaching or training of DPRK nationals in fields such as advanced physics, aerospace engineering, and advanced computer simulation that could contribute to the DPRK’s proliferation-sensitive nuclear activities;
- prohibit DPRK leasing or chartering of Canadian-flagged vessels or aircraft and the provision of crew services to the DPRK;
- prohibit Canadians from owning, leasing, operating or insuring DPRK vessels, from providing any vessel classification, certification or related service to any DPRK vessel, and from obtaining authorization for a vessel to use the DPRK flag;
- prohibit the procurement of coal, iron or iron ore from the DPRK;
- prohibit the procurement of gold, titanium ore, vanadium ore and rare earth minerals from the DPRK;
- prohibit the transfer of aviation fuel, including rocket fuel, to the DPRK with the exception of aviation fuel used to fuel civilian passenger aircraft outside the DPRK exclusively for consumption during a return flight to the DPRK;
- prohibit Canadian financial institutions from opening branches in the DPRK; and
- update the list of specific luxury goods that are banned for transfer to the DPRK.
The Regulations continue to impose asset freezes on the individuals and entities maintained on the list of designated persons per Resolution 1718, including those listed in Annex I and II of Resolution 2270. In Canada, implementation of travel restrictions is ensured under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its Regulations.
More on current Canadian sanctions is found here.