March 5, 2023

OFAC issues supplemental guidance on the provision of humanitarian assistance

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control recently issued a 2023 Fact Sheet that provides supplemental guidance on the reach of economic sanctions for persons involved in the provision of humanitarian assistance. The guidance is intended to provide humanitarian-related organizations, including those associated with the US government, international organizations and entities, and nongovernmental organizations, with an overview of the steps taken by OFAC on December 21, 2022 to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution (“UNSCR”) 2664, which created a humanitarian carveout to the asset freeze measures applied across UN sanctions regimes. In December, OFAC added or revised a number of general licenses across its sanctions programs creating a humanitarian exemption to ensure that legitimate humanitarian aid and related trade reach at-risk populations unencumbered by US financial sanctions programs. The 2023 Fact Sheet, issued on February 27, 2023, also supplements OFAC’s 2014 Guidance Related to the Provision of Humanitarian Assistance by Not-for Profit Non-Governmental Organizations in order to incorporate the December 2022 updates.

Department of Treasury Recent Action | Guidance Related to the Provision of Humanitarian Assistance