New OFAC amendment incorporates humanitarian-related general license into Western Balkan sanctions regulations

On April 26, 2023, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a regulatory amendment that corrected a number of typographical errors in the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (“ITSR”) and the Western Balkans Stabilization Regulations (“WBSR”).  One of the updates to the WBSR includes the incorporation of a general license that had been omitted from a prior update.  Specifically, Subpart E § 588.512 was added to the WBSR, which authorizes certain transactions in support of nongovernmental organizations’ activities.  The license enables certain humanitarian projects that meet basic human needs or otherwise directly benefit civilians, including their efforts to support democracy building, education, environmental protection, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (“DDR”) programs, and other non-commercial development projects.  These transactions are authorized as long as they are performed by a nongovernmental organization that is not blocked pursuant to the WBSR.

Department of Treasury Recent Action | OFAC Final Rule