DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
WASHINGTON, D.C.
OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL
Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations 31 CFR Part 594
Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations 31 CFR Part 597
Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001
Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism, as Amended
GENERAL LICENSE NO. 14
Authorizing Humanitarian Activities in Afghanistan
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this general license, all transactions involving the Taliban or the Haqqani Network, or any entity in which the Taliban or the Haqqani Network owns, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, a 50 percent or greater interest, prohibited by the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 594 (GTSR), the Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 597 (FTOSR), or Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the provision of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan or other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan by the following entities and their employees, grantees, contractors, or other persons acting on their behalf are authorized:
(1) The United States Government;
(2) Nongovernmental organizations;
(3) The United Nations, including its Programmes, Funds, and Other Entities and Bodies, as well as its Specialized Agencies and Related Organizations;
(4) The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA);
(5) The African Development Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group), including any fund entity administered or established by any of the foregoing;
(6) The International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies; and
(7) The Islamic Development Bank.
(b) This general license does not authorize:
(1) Financial transfers to any blocked person described in paragraph (a), other than for the purpose of effecting the payment of taxes, fees, or import duties, or the purchase or receipt of permits, licenses, or public utility services;
(2) Any debit to an account on the books of a U.S. financial institution of any blocked person blocked described in paragraph (a); or
(3) Any transactions or activities otherwise prohibited by the GTSR, the FTOSR, or any other part of 31 CFR chapter V, or E.O. 13224, as amended.
Note to General License No. 14. Nothing in this general license relieves any person from compliance with any other Federal laws or requirements of other Federal agencies.
Bradley T. Smith
Acting Director
Office of Foreign Assets Control
Dated: September 24, 2021
Notes:
1) BACKGROUND
For commentary concerning certain Afghanistan-related transactions that are not covered by this GL, refer to General Note Concerning the Status of the Unrecognized Government of Afghanistan Under the GTSR (System Ed. Note). For comments on the aspects of NGO-related GLs such as this that are conducive to cross-programmatic comment, refer to General Note on GLs Authorizing Transactions of and Related to Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) (System Ed. Note). See also FAQ # 954. "[P]urchases of fuel, payment for telecommunications services, payment for security services, payment of rent, and payment of utilities may be authorized under [this GL and others] provided that they are ordinarily incident and necessary to effectuate the activities authorized by the GLs".
As of 12/22/2021, the general licenses specifically applicable to transactions directly or indirectly involving the Taliban or Haqqani Network are GTSR/FTOSR GL 14, GTSR/FTOSR GL 15, GTSR/FTOSR GL 16, GTSR/FTOSR GL 17, GTSR/FTOSR GL 18, and GTSR/FTOSR GL 19.
These GLs cover direct dealings with the Taliban, as well as dealings with (still unrecognized) Government of Afghanistan-related entities that might otherwise be prohibited due to a Taliban “interest.” The GLs are associated with a number of FAQs.
Note that this GL overlaps in scope with GTSR/FTOSR General License 19, which applies to NGOs only. Overlaps with GLs 17 and 18. The difference between this GL and 17 and 18 is that the latter two do not require that the transaction covered be for transactions "ordinarily incident and necessary to the provision of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan or other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan". All "official business" is covered.
2) INTERPRETIVE ISSUES
Taken as a whole, GTSR/FTOSR General License 14 is unique, but it is amalgamation of provisions found in other GLs such that some of the interpretive issues can be addressed by looking at OFAC's cross-programmatic practices. The interpretive issues specific to this GL are discussed below. The interpretive issues common to all or most of the Taliban-related GLs are addressed in the General Note Concerning the Status of the Unrecognized Government of Afghanistan Under the GTSR (System Ed. Note).
a) The Meaning of “The Taliban” and “Haqqani Network”
[See the "General Note"]
b) Application to Dealings Involving Natural Person SDNs Blocked Due to Their Relationship with the Taliban
[See the "General Note"]
c) The Meaning of “by the following entities and their employees, grantees, contractors, or other persons acting on their behalf”
The structure of this GL is an offshoot of the standard “official business” provision that authorizes activities “that are for the conduct of the official business of [certain entities] by employees, contractors, or grantees thereof.” Interpretation of that boilerplate provision is treated extensively at General Note on Exemptions and General Licenses for the “Official Business” of the U.S. Government (and/or United Nations) and Employees, Contractors, or Grantees Thereof, and much of the note useful for the interpretation of this GL.
Apart from the fact that this GL is limited to “humanitarian” activities, as opposed to all “official business,” there are two notable distinctions between the structure of this GL and the typical “official business” provision. One is that the GL explicitly states that all transactions “of” the subject entities are authorized (as opposed to only transactions “by employees, contractors, or grantees [of the subject entities]”), and another is that it specifies that the authorization extends to “other persons acting on [] behalf of” the specified entities. As addressed in the “official business” System Note referred to above, both of those differences appear to constitute clarifications of the scope of the boilerplate “official business” provision, rather than a substantive expansion of its scope. A transaction by a person that acts “on behalf” of the USG may be within the scope of the standard “official business” provision, even if the person is not an “employee, contractor or grantee” of the USG (such activities may be authorized as “ordinarily incident” to the exempt transactions of the USG). In the humanitarian assistance context, examples of non-contractors “acting on behalf” of a covered person would include one-the-ground agents with whom there is no formal contractual relationship. Likewise, the boilerplate “official business” provision extends to transactions by “other persons” (other than “employees, contractors or grantees”) to the extent that those transactions are “ordinarily incident” to the authorized activities of the “employees, contractors or grantees.” Activities of, e.g., subcontractors and subawardees are within the scope of the standard “official business” provision as “ordinarily incident” to the authorized activities of the contractors and grantees, and there is no reason why that should not be the case here as well.
d) The Entities Whose Activities are Covered
For comments on the meaning of “The United States Government,” see General Note on Exemptions and General Licenses for the “Official Business” of the U.S. Government (and/or United Nations) and Employees, Contractors, or Grantees Thereof (all “agencies” count, but only federal government agencies).
The term “nongovernmental organizations” (NGOs) is not defined by OFAC, either in the GTSR or any other set of sanctions regulations. OFAC has, however, historically interpreted the term relatively broadly, apparently extending “NGO” treatment to most charities. NGO-Humanitarian Guidance (2014) suggests that, at least as it concerns U.S. person NGOs, OFAC would only consider general licenses referencing NGOs to apply to registered 501(c)(3) tax exempt status organizations. Considering that this GL applies to both U.S. entities as well as services in support of non-U.S. entities, it is probably safe to presume that OFAC would not consider a foreign entity to be an "NGO" unless it would qualify for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status if it were a U.S. entity. See Sudanese Sanctions Regulations - NGO Registration Instructions (Removed) for factors OFAC used to consider in the context of the now-obsolete NGO registration program for the Sudanese Sanctions Regulations.
e) The Meaning of “humanitarian assistance…or…other activities that support basic human needs”
The typical GL applicable to activities of NGOs covers, among other specified activities, “humanitarian projects to meet basic human needs,” where “basic human needs” is not a defined term (see e.g. Burma General License Number 3, Ethiopia General License Number 2, 510.512). The structure of this GL is unique in that it covers “humanitarian assistance” or “other activities that support basic human needs,” suggesting that “other activities that support basic human needs” covers a range of transactions that are not otherwise capable of definition as “humanitarian assistance”. In FAQ # 929, OFAC provides guidance on the meaning of the terms "humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan" and "other activities that support basic human needs in Afghanistan," and does so in a way that includes a number of helpful examples, but otherwise puts no hard limit around the meaning of the construction “humanitarian assistance…or…other activities that support basic human needs”.
f) The Meaning of the Term "Financial Transfers"; Importance Thereof
[See the "General Note"]