2009E0788 — EN — 22.12.2009 — 001.001

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Amended by:









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COUNCIL COMMON POSITION 2009/788/CFSP

of 27 October 2009

concerning restrictive measures against the Republic of Guinea







THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 15 thereof, Whereas: (1) On 29 September 2009, the European Union (EU) strongly condemned the violent crackdown by security forces on political demonstrators in Conakry on 28 September and called for the release of the arrested demonstrators and members of the opposition. The EU urged the authorities in the Republic of Guinea to immediately conduct a thorough investigation of the incidents. (2) On 6 October 2009, the EU, appalled by the reported human rights abuses following the crackdown and strongly concerned about developments in the Republic of Guinea, urged the National Council for Democracy and Development (NCDD), political parties and all relevant actors in the Republic of Guinea to take immediate action to restore the rule of law and put the country back on the path towards constitutional rule and democracy. (3) In view of the seriousness of the current situation in the Republic of Guinea, the Council considers it necessary to adopt measures targeting the members of the NCDD and individuals associated with them, responsible for the violent repression or the political stalemate in the country and to impose an arms embargo against the Republic of Guinea, Whereas: HAS ADOPTED THIS COMMON POSITION:







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Article 1

1. The sale, supply, transfer or export of arms and related material of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment and spare parts for the aforementioned, as well as equipment which might be used for internal repression, to the Republic of Guinea by nationals of Member States or from the territories of Member States or using their flag vessels or aircraft, shall be prohibited whether originating or not in their territories.

2. It shall be prohibited:

(a) to provide, directly or indirectly, technical assistance, brokering services or other services related to the items referred to in paragraph 1 or related to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of such items, to any natural or legal person, entity or body in, or for use in, the Republic of Guinea;

(b) to provide, directly or indirectly, financing or financial assistance related to the items referred to in paragraph 1, including in particular grants, loans and export credit insurance, for any sale, supply, transfer or export of such items, or for the provision of related technical assistance, brokering services or other services to any natural or legal person, entity or body in, or for use in, the Republic of Guinea;

(c) to participate, knowingly and intentionally, in activities, the object or effect of which is to circumvent the prohibitions referred to in points (a) or (b).

Article 2

1. Article 1 shall not apply to:

(a) the sale, supply, transfer or export of non-lethal military equipment or of equipment which might be used for internal repression, intended solely for humanitarian or protective use, or for institution building programmes of the United Nations(UN) and the EU, or for EU and UN crisis management operations;

(b) the sale, supply, transfer or export of non-combat vehicles which have been manufactured or fitted with materials to provide ballistic protection, intended solely for protective use of personnel of the EU and its Member States in the Republic of Guinea;

(c) the provision of technical assistance, brokering services and other services related to such equipment or to such programmes and operations;

(d) the provision of financing and financial assistance related to such equipment or to such programmes and operations,

on condition that such exports and assistance have been approved in advance by the relevant competent authority.

2. Article 1 shall not apply to protective clothing, including flak jackets and military helmets, temporarily exported to the Republic of Guinea by UN personnel, personnel of the EU or its Member States, representatives of the media and humanitarian and development workers and associated personnel for their personal use only.

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Article 3

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1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to prevent the entry into, or transit through, their territories of the individual members of the NCDD and persons associated with them, as listed in the Annex.

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2. Paragraph 1 shall not oblige a Member State to refuse its own nationals entry into its territory.

3. Paragraph 1 shall be without prejudice to the cases where a Member State is bound by an obligation of international law, namely:

(a) as a host country of an international intergovernmental organisation;

(b) as a host country to an international conference convened by, or under the auspices of, the UN; or

(c) under a multilateral agreement conferring privileges and immunities; or

(d) under the 1929 Treaty of Conciliation (Lateran pact) concluded by the Holy See (State of the Vatican City) and Italy.

4. Paragraph 3 shall be considered as applying also in cases where a Member State is host country of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

5. The Council shall be duly informed in all cases where a Member State grants an exemption pursuant to paragraphs 3 or 4.

6. Member States may grant exemptions from the measures imposed under paragraph 1 where travel is justified on the grounds of urgent humanitarian need, or on grounds of attending intergovernmental meetings, including those promoted by the EU, or hosted by a Member State holding the Chairmanship in office of the OSCE, where a political dialogue is conducted that directly promotes democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the Republic of Guinea.

7. A Member State wishing to grant exemptions referred to in paragraph 6 shall notify the Council in writing. The exemption shall be deemed to be granted unless one or more of the Council members raises an objection in writing within two working days of receiving notification of the proposed exemption. Should one or more of the Council members raise an objection, the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may decide to grant the proposed exemption.

8. In cases where pursuant to paragraphs 3, 4, 6 and 7, a Member State authorises the entry into, or transit through, its territory of persons listed in the Annex, the authorisation shall be limited to the purpose for which it is given and to the persons concerned thereby.

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Article 3a

1. All funds and economic resources belonging to, owned, held or controlled by the individual members of the NCDD and natural or legal persons, entities or bodies associated with them, as listed in the Annex shall be frozen.

2. No funds or economic resources shall be made available, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of, natural or legal persons, entities or bodies listed in the Annex.

3. The competent authority of a Member State may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources or the making available of certain funds or economic resources, under such conditions as it deems appropriate, after having determined that the funds or economic resources concerned are:

(a) necessary to satisfy the basic needs of persons listed in the Annex and their dependent family members, including payments for foodstuffs, rent or mortgage, medicines and medical treatment, taxes, insurance premiums, and public utility charges;

(b) intended exclusively for payment of reasonable professional fees and reimbursement of incurred expenses associated with the provision of legal services;

(c) intended exclusively for payment of fees or service charges for routine holding or maintenance of frozen funds or economic resources; or

(d) necessary for extraordinary expenses, provided that the competent authority has notified the competent authority of the other Member States and the Commission of the grounds on which it considers that a specific authorisation should be granted, at least two weeks prior to the authorisation.

A Member State shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this paragraph.

4. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the competent authorities of a Member State may authorise the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources, provided that the following conditions are met:

(a) the funds or economic resources are subject of a judicial, administrative or arbitral lien established prior to the date on which the natural or legal person, entity or body referred to in Article 3a was included in the Annex or of a judicial, administrative or arbitral judgment rendered prior to that date;

(b) the funds or economic resources will be used exclusively to satisfy claims secured by such a lien or recognised as valid in such a judgment, within the limits set by applicable laws and regulations governing the rights of persons having such claims;

(c) the lien or judgment is not for the benefit of a natural or legal person, entity or body listed in the Annex; and

(d) recognising the lien or judgement is not contrary to public policy in the Member State concerned.

A Member State shall inform the other Member States and the Commission of any authorisation granted under this paragraph.

5. Paragraph 2 shall not apply to the addition to frozen accounts of:

(a) interest or other earnings on those accounts; or

(b) payments due under contracts, agreements or obligations that were concluded or arose prior to the date on which those accounts became subject to this Common Position,

provided that any such interest, other earnings and payments remain subject to paragraph 1.

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Article 4

The Council, acting upon a proposal by a Member State or the Commission, shall adopt modifications to the lists contained in the Annex as required by political developments in the Republic of Guinea.

Article 5

In order to maximise the impact of the abovementioned measures, the EU shall encourage third States to adopt restrictive measures similar to those contained in this Common Position.

Article 6

This Common Position shall apply for a period of 12 months. It shall be kept under constant review. It shall be renewed, or amended as appropriate, if the Council deems that its objectives have not been met.

Article 7

This Common Position shall take effect on the date of its adoption.

Article 8

This Common Position shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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ANNEX