[House Document 107-100]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-100
PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE TALIBAN
IN AFGHANISTAN
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
A 6-MONTH PERIODIC REPORT ON THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE
TALIBAN IN AFGHANISTAN THAT WAS DECLARED IN EXECUTIVE ORDER 13129 OF
JULY 4, 1999, PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. 1703(c)
July 16, 2001.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations
and ordered to be printed
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
89-011 WASHINGTON : 2001
The White House,
Washington, June 30, 2001.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: As required by section 401(c) of the
National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section 204(c)
of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), 50
U.S.C. 1703(c), I transmit herewith a 6-month periodic report
on the national emergency with respect to the Taliban that was
declared in Executive Order 13129 of July 4, 1999.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush.
President's Periodic Report on the National Emergency With Respect to
the Taliban in Afghanistan
I hereby report to the Congress on developments over the
course of the past 6 months concerning the national emergency
with respect to the actions and polices of the Taliban in
Afghanistan that was declared in Executive Order 13129 of July
4, 1999. This report is submitted pursuant to section 401(c) of
the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section
204(c) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50
U.S.C. 1703(c), (``IEEPA'').
1. On January 11, 2001, the Office of Foreign Assests
Control (OFAC) issued the Taliban (Afghanistan) Sanctions
Regulations, 31 CFR Part 545 (the ``Regulations'') (66 FR 2726,
January 11, 2001). A copy of the Regulations is attached to
this report.
2. During the past 6 months, OFAC has authorized one
nongovernmental organization to conduct humanitarian relief
operations in the territory of Afghanistan controlled by the
Taliban, bringing the total of such authorizations to 24. In
addition, OFAC issued six licenses to authorize certain
payments in connection with overflights of Taliban-controlled
territory and to unblock funds in which there is no interest of
the Taliban.
OFAC continues to emphasize to the international banking
community in the United States the importance of identifying
and blocking payments made by or on behalf of the Taliban and
has worked closely with the banks to assure the effectiveness
of interdiction software systems used to identify such
payments. As of May 9, 2001, 18 transactions totaling
approximately $2.56 million were blocked during this period.
This brings the total assets blocked since the inception of the
program to more than $252 million. Under the Regulations,
transactions in violation of the sanctions where there is no
blockable interest of the Taliban must be returned to remitters
(i.e., ``rejected''). During the reporting period, 42
transactions were rejected by U.S. banks causing a disruption
of nearly $1.4 million in financial dealings involving the
territory of Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban.
On March 1, 2001, OFAC, in consultation with the Department
of State, issued a Blocking Order and Notice of Office Closure
to the New York representative of the Taliban Islsmic Movement
of Afghanistan. This action served effectively to close the
Taliban's New York office under the authority of Executive
Order 13129, consistent with UN Security Council Resolution
1333. In connection with this action, OFAC issued an order to a
New York bank blocking two accounts maintained by the Taliban's
New York office.
Various other enforcement actions and investigations are
being aggressively pursued. Reports of new violations are also
being scrutinized. Since the last report, OFAC has collected
two civil penalties totaling nearly $5,100 for violations of
IEEPA and the Regulations by a US bank and a U.S. company.
3. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the
6-month period from January 4 through July 3, 2001, that are
directly attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities
conferred by the declaration of the national emergency with
respect to the Taliban in Afghanistan, are estimated at
approximately $300,000. Personnel costs were largely centered
in the Department of the Treasury (particularly in the Office
of Foreign Assets Control, the Office of the General Counsel,
and the U.S. Customs Service), the Department of State, and
components of the Department of Justice.
4. The Taliban continues to provide Usama bin Laden and the
al-Oaida organization with a safe haven and base of operations,
despite repeated efforts by the United States to persuade the
Taliban to expel bin Laben to a third country where he can be
brought to justice. The Taliban also allows Usama bin Laden to
make repeated public threats against the United States, to
operate a network of terrorist training camps, and to use
Afghanistan as a base from which to sponsor terrorist acts
abroad. Available information confirms that bin Laden's
organization, working with other terrorist groups, continues
actively to plan attacks on Americans and others. Reliable
information also indicates that the bin Laden network seeks to
acquire weapons of mass destruction, including chemical
weapons.
The international community recognized that the Taliban's
actions pose an unusual threat to international security and
the need to take action against the Taliban for its harboring
of Usama bin Laden by the unanimous adoption of UN Security
Council Resolution 1267, which freezes funds and other
financial resources of the Taliban and prohibits Taliban-
associated flights. The seriousness of this threat was
underscored by the Security Council's subsequent adoption of
further sanctions in Resolution 1333.
I shall continue to exercise the powers at my disposal to
apply economic sanctions against the Taliban in Afghanistan as
long as these measures are appropriate, and will continue to
report periodically to the Congress on significant developments
pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 1703(c).