Further, OFAC sanctions only reflect the US sanctions programs. Many other countries also have similar sanctions programs in place, including the European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, China, and many more. OFAC-sanctioned countries include comprehensively sanctioned countries such as Russia, Iran, Cuba, and North Korea and other countries subject to OFAC sanctions including Iraq, Lebanon, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
OFAC publishes a list of Specifically Designated Nationals (SDNs) and provides a OFAC SDN list search tool. Using the search tool, a user can check if an organization is on the OFAC SDN List. Some sanctions apply to entire countries (e.g. Iran), regions (e.g., the Crimea region of Ukraine), or governments (e.g., the government of Venezuela), and those countries, regions, and governments are not on the SDN List. The OFAC SDN list and search tool are also not exhaustive and any analysis cannot solely rely on this list, the foundation said.
The foundation stressed its commitment to open source and global collaboration and doing so responsibly while complying with laws and regulations where the foundation and community members operate. “It is disappointing that the open source community cannot operate independently of international sanctions programs, but these sanctions are the law of each country and are not optional,” the foundation said.
