US sanctions on Somalia: What they mean

GOOBJOOG NEWS|WASHINGTON: The Biden administration has upheld the decade long sanctions against Somalia affirming the restrictions imposed by the Barack Obama administration in 2010.

The White House announced on April 1 that the sanctions will continue beyond April 12 when the executive reaches its tenth anniversary. According to the notice, the continuation of the sanctions is informed by the continued fragile situation in Somalia.

“The situation with respect to Somalia continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” President Biden said in the notice. “ For this reason, the national emergency declared on April 12, 2010, and the measures adopted on that date and on July 20, 2012, to deal with that threat, must continue in effect beyond April 12, 2021.”

What it entails

President Obama issued Executive Order 13536 following the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ‘to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the deterioration of the security situation and the persistence of violence in Somalia’.

The Order was also informed by acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia and violations of the UN Security Council arms embargo imposed on Somalia in 1992.

The Executive Order targets the property interests of individuals and entities deemed to directly or indirectly threaten peace and security in Somalia. This includes threatening the Djibouti Agreement of August 18, 2008 and AMISOM, federal institutions and other future peacekeeping missions.

Also on focus are individuals or entities which obstruct the delivery of humanitarian assistance, supply of weapons and technical advice or training, killing and maiming civilians and using children in armed conflict.

Import and export of charcoal into and from Somalia and import of charcoal from Somalia into the US are also prohibited under the sanctions.

Penalties

The sanctions impose a varying degree of penalties on those who violate the order. Civil monetary penalties of $250,000 can be imposed on those who violate the order. Upon conviction, criminal fines of up to $1,000,000, imprisonment for up to 20 years, or both apply.