Chapter 8:   SUBSIDARY BODIES

Section 5(e):   Subsidiary bodies concerned with sanctions

 

Maritime transportation sector compliance with sanctions regimes

 

On 15 January 2015, the representatives of Australia and Singapore submitted to the Security Council President a report on a symposium for the shipping and maritime transportation sector which their countries co-hosted in Singapore on 12 September 2014 (S/2015/28).  The purposes of the symposium were to raise awareness of UN sanctions and to explore issues relating to compliance.  Compliance by the shipping industry is essential in view of the report’s conclusion that there is “a real risk that the sector could be misused by proliferators in order to transfer sensitive commodities.”

 

The symposium report, prepared together with King’s College London, documents good compliance practices for the purpose both of promoting full conformity with sanctions regimes by the maritime transportation industry, and enhancing the understanding of UN Member States and Security Council committees of that sector’s role in the effective implementation of sanctions.  The report identifies for the maritime transportation industry two basic due diligence risk indicators:  the country of destination and the good itself.  Practices to promote compliance in this connection include:  a) understanding risk indicators to identify suspicious transactions; b) conducting systematic due diligence of customers; c) using certification and accreditation schemes; d) monitoring vessels; and e) relying on audit trails and record-keeping.  In addition to a detailed list of elements for creating an effective compliance programme, the report contains a list of fourteen “Red Flags”, that is, “acts that could be classed as abnormal and as indicators of intended violations.”

 

The report notes that the symposium and its report are “a first step in producing sector-specific guidance on the implementation of sanctions.”  This initiative by Australia, which was a Security Council member at the time the symposium was held, and Singapore, a non-Council Member State, together with the ongoing work of the High Level Sanctions Review, suggests increasing involvement by non-Council Member States and institutions in the development of best practices concerning sanctions imposed by the Security Council.  The High Level Review has been organized by the governments of Australia, Finland, Germany, Greece and Sweden, in partnership with Brown University’s Watson Institute and the independent consulting group Compliance and Capacity International. (This update supplements pages 519 to 535 of the book.)