I. Relevant Security Council resolution and Implementation Assistance Notice No. 7

The comprehensive humanitarian exemption mechanism as established by the 1718 Sanctions Committee to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is provided by the following:

• Security Council resolution 2397 (2017): paragraph 25

Implementation Assistance Notice No. 7 (IAN No 7): “Guidelines for Obtaining Exemptions to Deliver Humanitarian Assistance to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”

    * Optional template documents to be used for exemption applications:

    Annex I: Project outline (PDF, Word)

    Annex II : Detailed list of items and specifications for proposed humanitarian assistance (PDF, Excel)

II. Who can submit a request for a humanitarian exemption to the Committee?

• Member States;
• International Organizations; and
• Non-Governmental Organizations

that carry out assistance/relief activities in the DPRK for the benefit of the civilian population of the DPRK.

International and non-governmental organizations can seek exemptions from the Committee through:

1) Member States; or

2) the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator to the DPRK if a Member State is unable or any other way not in a position to route such a request to the Committee; or

3) through the Committee Secretary if both a Member State and the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the DPRK are unable to submit in any other way not in a position to submit exemption requests to the Committee.

For more information, please see IAN No 7 .

*United Nations agencies, ICRC, IFRC, IOC, or an organization that has received two or more exemptions during 18 months preceding the date of the new application, or whose exemption request is in regards to providing urgent emergency humanitarian assistance to the DPRK people, such as aid to fight against pandemic outbreaks, like Covid-19, or aid to respond to natural disaster, can submit exemption requests directly to the Committee via the Committee Secretary, in accordance with the relevant national authorities and organization bylaws.

For more information, please see IAN No. 7

III. What is the format of a request for humanitarian exemption?

Requests are to be submitted, on official letterhead, containing the following elements:

• Nature of humanitarian assistance proposed to be provided to the DPRK for the benefit of the civilian population of the DPRK;
• Explanation of the DPRK recipients and criteria employed to select beneficiaries;
• Reasons for requiring a Committee exemption;
• Detailed description with quantities and relevant specifications (including, to the extent possible, make, model and manufacturer) of the goods and services to be provided within the exemption period to the DPRK for what purpose and to whom;
• Planned date(s) of proposed transfer to the DPRK within the exemption period;
• Planned route(s) and method(s) of transfer including ports of departure and entry to be used for shipments;
• All parties involved in the transfers, including DPRK entities, whether receiving authorization or or providing support, that can be identified at the time of submission of the application;
• Financial transactions associated with the transfers;
• Annex containing itemized list of all planned transfers of goods and services with quantities, approximate value of goods and services in U.S. dollars or local currency, and planned shipment date;
• Confirmation whether the Committee approval letter and its annex can be published on the 1718 Committee website upon issuance, and
• Measures to ensure that assistance to be provided to the DPRK are used for the intended purposes, such as monitoring plan, and not diverted for prohibited purposes.

Applicants obtaining exemptions should do their utmost to consolidate all planned shipments into three shipments or less every nine months, per project, to the extent practicable. In case of necessary and well-justified changes to items planned for transfer to the DPRK (such as exact specifications and quantities) and/or the method and parties involved in the transactions (such a the final shipping and delivery plan), the applicant shoud promptly provide the Committee with all changes needed for review through a follow-up exemption letter.The requested changes will be reviewed and appropriate adjustments made to the exemption, where necessary.  If an applicant is unable to provide the above information, the applicant should submit the reason the information is missing and a plan to update the Committee as the details become available.  Applicants facing any challenges during the process should consult the relevant Member State, the Committee Chair, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the DPRK. 

For applicants' convenience and optional use, the Committee has made available the following optional template documents to be used for exemption applications:

Annex I: Project outline (PDF, Word)

Annex II : Detailed list of items and specifications for proposed humanitarian assistance (PDF, Excel)

IV. How to submit requests for exemptions for humanitarian assistance to the Committee

1. Request from Member States are to be submitted to:

• The Chair of the Committee, Her Excellency Mrs. Pascale Christine Baeriswyl (Switzerland) through the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations with copy to the Secretary of the Committee, Mr. Davey McNab, Email address: sc-1718-committee@un.org

2. Requests from international and Non-Governmental Organizations if a Member State is unable or in any other way not in a position to route such a request to the Committee are to be submitted to:

• The United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office for DPRK, Mr. Joe Colombano, Email address: rco-dprk@un.org 

3. Requests from International and Non-Governmental Organizations if both a Member State and the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the DPRK are unable or in any other way not in the position to submit exemption requests to the Committee:

• The Secretary of the Committee, Mr. Davey McNab, Email address: sc-1718-committee@un.org

 United Nations agencies, ICRC, IFRC, IOC, or an organization that has received two or more exemptions during 18 months preceding the date of the new application, or whose exemption request is in regards to providing urgent emergency humanitarian assistance to the DPRK people, such as aid to fight against pandemic outbreaks, like Covid-19, or aid to respond to natural disaster, can submit exemption requests directly to the Committee via the Committee Secretary, in accordance with the relevant national authorities and organization bylaws.

V. Committee Exemption Approval Process

The Committee endeavors to process humanitarian exemption requests as quickly as possible to provide decisions within a reasonable timeframe in accordance withe the Committee Guidelines.  Exemptions will be granted for a period of nine months from the date of the letter by which the Committee has granted the exemption, unless the applicant specifically requests otherwise and provides a well-founded justification, such as transportation delays related to a pandemic, for the Committee to consider.

If the applicant that received an exemption is unable to complete the project within the exemption timeframe, the applicant should submit an extension request with an explanation, at least ten business days before the expiration date of the exemption. The Committee will review extension requests, update exemption requests, and urgent emergency humanitarian assistance requests, such as those aimed at responding to pandemic outbreaks, like COVID-19, or natural disasters on an expedited timeframe.

VI. Committee Exemption Approval Letter

If the Committee approves a request, it will issue a Committee Exemption Approval Letter to the requesting party that explains specifically what the Committee approves for transfer to the DPRK. An annex with an approved list of goods and services by quantity and planned shipment date will be appended to the Committee approval letter.

The Committee approval letter and its annex will be published on the 1718 Committee website upon issuance for the public for the exemption period. The approval letter will be translated to all UN languages and the applicant may share it with relevant parties. If there is a need for the annex to be translated, for example, to help with procurement, customs, or financial transactions, the applicant should include a translated version in its initial application to be posted online once approved.

Limitations of 1718 Committee Exemptions

Receiving exemptions from the Committee for United Nations sanctions does not exempt those organizations and their proposed transactions from the relevant domestic regulations and licensing requirements of Member States involved in those transactions. All international or non-governmental organizations requesting exemptions from the Committee must also fully observe relevant regulatory and licensing requirements of Member States that have jurisdiction over all aspects of the proposed transactions and involved parties, such as submitting a translated version of the annex of the Committee exemption approval letter to the customs authority in countries where English is not an official language and adhering to cash carry limitations. 

As of 23 September 2024, the Committee has approved a total of 105 humanitarian exemption requests in accordance with paragraph 25 of Security Council resolution 2397 (2017).

VI. Humanitarian Exemption(s) in Effect