PRINT
§ 589.520 Certain transactions in support of nongovernmental organizations’ activities in the Crimea region of Ukraine.
Nongovernmental organizations are authorized to export or reexport services to the Crimea region of Ukraine that would be prohibited by § 589.206 in support of the following not-for-profit activities:
(a) Activities to support humanitarian projects to meet basic human needs in the Crimea region of Ukraine, including drought and flood relief; food, nutrition, and medicine distribution; the provision of health services; assistance for vulnerable populations, including individuals with disabilities; and environmental programs;
(b) Activities to support democracy building in the Crimea region of Ukraine, including activities to support rule of law, citizen participation, government accountability, universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, access to information, and civil society development projects;
(c) Activities to support education in the Crimea region of Ukraine, including combating illiteracy, increasing access to education, international exchanges, and assisting education reform projects;
(d) Activities to support non-commercial development projects directly benefiting the Crimean people, including preventing infectious disease and promoting maternal/child health, and clean water assistance; and
(e) Activities to support environmental protection, including the preservation and protection of threatened or endangered species and the remediation of pollution or other environmental damage.
1) 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). The nature of the NGO-related activities described at paragraphs (a)-(e) of the GL is similar to those described in the standard NGO GL, but there are some differences at the margins.
2) Be wary of the relatively limited scope for license exemptions in the EAR in connection with Crimea-related activities.
3) Compare the scope of the term "food" with what is available for export for TSRA-eligible countries (see also 560.530). The scope of this GL is far narrower, as "agricultural commodities" are not permitted.
4) This GL almost certainly contains a crucial error. The GL authorizes transactions "that would be prohibited by § 589.206" (such that transactions prohibited by other provisions of the URSR are authorized only insofar as they are "ordinarily incident" to the transactions otherwise prohibited by 589.206). 589.206 is the "new investment" prohibition. As structured, the GL makes no sense, because it only authorizes the exportation of services to Crimea insofar as such services are ordinarily incident to otherwise prohibited new investment. It is virtually assured that OFAC meant to have the GL key off of the prohibition at 589.207 (Prohibited exportation, reexportation, sale, or supply of goods, services, or technology to the Crimea region of Ukraine). That is the same structure that 542.516 of the SySR took prior to the 2021 amendment of that provision.