Article 2a
1. Member States shall take the measures necessary to prevent the entry into, or transit through, their territories of natural persons: (a) responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions that threaten the peace, stability and security of Haiti, including: (i) engaging in, directly or indirectly, or supporting criminal activities and violence involving armed groups and criminal networks that promote violence, including forcible recruitment of children by such groups and networks, kidnappings, trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants, and homicides and sexual and gender-based violence; (ii) supporting illicit trafficking and diversion of arms and related materiel, or illicit financial flows related thereto; (iii) acting for, on behalf of or at the direction of, or otherwise supporting or financing, a person or entity designated in connection with the activity described in point (i) or (ii), including through the direct or indirect use of the proceeds from organised crime, including proceeds from illicit production and trafficking in drugs and their precursors originating in or transiting through Haiti, the trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants from Haiti, or the smuggling and trafficking of arms to or from Haiti; (iv) acting in violation of the arms embargo, or having directly or indirectly supplied, sold or transferred to armed groups or criminal networks in Haiti, or having been the recipient of, arms or any related materiel, or any technical advice, training or assistance, including financing and financial assistance, related to violent activities of armed groups or criminal networks in Haiti; (v) planning, directing or committing acts that violate international human rights law or acts that constitute human rights abuses, including those involving extrajudicial killing, including of women and children, and the commission of acts of violence, abduction, enforced disappearances or kidnappings for ransom in Haiti; (vi) planning, directing or committing acts involving sexual and gender-based violence, including rape and sexual slavery, in Haiti; (vii) obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Haiti or access to, or the distribution of, humanitarian assistance in Haiti; (viii) attacking personnel or premises of Union delegations and Member State diplomatic missions and operations in Haiti, or providing support for such attacks; (ix) engaging in illicit exploitation of natural resources or illicit trade in natural resources; (b) undermining democracy or the rule of law in Haiti through serious financial misconduct concerning public funds or the unauthorised export of capital; or (c) associated with natural persons designated under points (a) and (b) or under Article 2(1). Natural persons as referred to in this paragraph are listed in Annex II. 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 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 United Nations; (c) under a multilateral agreement conferring privileges and immunities; or (d) pursuant to the 1929 Treaty of Conciliation (Lateran Pact) concluded by the Holy See (Vatican City State) and Italy. 4. Paragraph 3 shall also apply in cases where a Member State is host country of the Organization 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 the grounds of attending intergovernmental meetings or meetings promoted or hosted by the Union, or hosted by a Member State holding the Chairmanship in office of the OSCE, where a political dialogue is conducted that directly promotes the policy objectives of restrictive measures. 7. Member States may also grant exemptions from the measures imposed under paragraph 1 where entry or transit is necessary for the fulfilment of a judicial process. 8. A Member State wishing to grant exemptions referred to in paragraphs 6 or 7 shall notify the Council in writing. The exemption shall be deemed to be granted unless one or more Member States raise an objection in writing within two working days of receiving notification of the proposed exemption. Should one or more Member States raise an objection, the Council, acting by a qualified majority, may decide to grant the proposed exemption. 9. Where, pursuant to paragraph 3, 4, 6 or 7, a Member State authorises the entry into, or transit through, its territory of persons listed in Annex II, the authorisation shall be strictly limited to the purpose for which it is given and to the persons directly concerned thereby.