A new Executive Order, “Blocking Property and Suspending Entry of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Mali,” has been issued. The Executive Order declares a national emergency regarding Mali, and blocks the US property of any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be responsible or complicit in actions or policies that in summary:
- threaten the peace, security, stability or democratic processes of Mali;
- violate or obstruct the implementation of the 2015 Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali;
- attack Malian institutions or security forces, or international peacekeeping forces;
- obstruct distribution of humanitarian aid or violate international humanitarian law; or
- involve the use of children in armed conflict or the trafficking of persons, drugs or cultural treasures.
The Executive Order also prohibits transactions with persons and property that are blocked pursuant to the order, as well as donations to such persons or entities, and suspends the unrestricted entry to the US of aliens blocked pursuant to the order.