[House Document 107-91] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] 107th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-91 DECLARATION OF A NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE WESTERN BALKANS REGION __________ MESSAGE from THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES transmitting HIS DECLARATION OF A NATIONAL EMERGENCY IN RESPONSE TO THE UNUSUAL AND EXTRAORDINARY THREAT POSED TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES BY ACTIONS OF PERSONS ENGAGED IN OR ASSISTING, SPONSORING, OR SUPPORTING, EXTREMIST VIOLENCE IN THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA, SOUTHERN SERBIA, THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA, AND ELSEWHERE IN THE WESTERN BALKANS REGION, PURSUANT TO 50 U.S.C. 1703(b)June 28, 2001.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed To the Congress of the United States: Pursuant to section 204(b) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b) (IEEPA), and section 301 of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1631, I hereby report that I have exercised my statutory authority to declare a national emergency in response to the unusual and extraordinary threat posed to the national security and foreign policy of the United States by (i) actions of persons engaged in, or assisting, sponsoring, or supporting, extremist violence in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, southern Serbia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), and elsewhere in the Western Balkans region, and (ii) the actions of persons engaged in, or assisting, sponsoring, or supporting acts obstructing implementation of the Dayton Accords in Bosnia or United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, in Kosovo. The actions of these individuals and groups threaten the peace in or diminish the security and stability of the Western Balkans, undermine the authority, efforts, and objectives of the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and other international organizations and entities present in those areas and the wider region, and endanger the safety of persons participating in or providing support to the activities of those organizations and entities, including United States military forces and Government officials. In order to deal with this threat, I have issued an Executive order blocking the property and interests in property of those persons determined to have undertaken the actions described above. The Executive order prohibits United States persons from transferring, paying, exporting, withdrawing, or otherwise dealing in the property or interests in property of persons I have identified in the Annex to the order or persons designated pursuant to the order by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State. Included among the activities prohibited by the order are the making or receiving by United States persons of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services to or for the benefit of any person designated in or pursuant to the order. In the Executive order, I also have made a determination pursuant to section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA that the operation of the IEEPA exemption for certain humanitarian donations from the scope of the prohibitions would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency. Absent such a determination, such donations of the type specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA could strengthen the position of individuals and groups that endanger the safety of persons participating in or providing support to the United Nations, NATO, and other international organizations or entities, including U.S. military forces and Government officials, present in the region. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is authorized to issue regulations in exercise of my authorities under IEEPA to implement the prohibitions set forth in the Executive order. All Federal agencies are also directed to take actions within their authority to carry out the provisions of the order, and, where appropriate, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury in a timely manner of the measures taken. I am enclosing a copy of the Executive order I have issued. The order was effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 27, 2001. I have issued the order in response to recent developments in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, southern Serbia, and elsewhere in the Western Balkans region where persons have turned increasingly to the use of extremist violence, the incitement of ethnic conflict, and other obstructionist acts to promote irredentist or criminal agendas that have threatened the peace in and the stability and security of the region and placed those participating in or supporting international organizations, including U.S. military and Government personnel, at risk. In both Macedonia and southern Serbia, individuals and groups have engaged in extremist violence and other acts of obstructionism to exploit legitimate grievances of local ethnic Albanians. These groups include local nationals who fought with the Kosovo Liberation Army in 1998-99 and have used their wartime connections to obtain funding and weapons from Kosovo and the ethnic Albanian diaspora. Guerrilla attacks by some of these groups against police and soldiers in Macedonia threaten to bring down the democratically elected, multi-ethnic government of a state that has become a close friend and invaluable partner of NATO. In March 2001, guerrillas operating on the border between Kosovo and Macedonia attempted to fire upon U.S. soldiers participating in the international security presence in Kosovo known as the Kosovo Force (KFOR). Guerrilla leaders subsequently made public threats against KFOR. In southern Serbia, ethnic Albanian extremists have used the Ground Safety Zone (GSZ), originally intended as a buffer between KFOR and FRY/government of Serbia (FRY/GoS) forces, as a safe haven for staging attacks against FRY/GoS police and soldiers. Members of ethnic Albanian armed extremist groups in southern Serbia have on several occasions fired on Joint U.S.- Russian KFOR patrols in Kosovo. NATO has negotiated the return of FRY/GoS forces to the GSZ, and facilitated negotiations between Belgrade authorities and ethnic Albanian insurgents and political leaders from southern Serbia. A small number of the extremist leaders have since threatened to seek vengeance on KFOR, including U.S. KFOR. Individuals and groups engaged in the activities described above have boasted falsely of having U.S. support, a claim that is believed by many in the region. They also have aggressively solicited funds from United States persons. These fund-raising efforts serve to fuel extremist violence and obstructionist activity in the region and are inimical to U.S. interests. Consequently, the Executive order I have issued is necessary to restrict any further financial or other support by United States persons for the persons designated in or pursuant to the order. The actions we are taking will demonstrate to all the peoples of the region and to the wider international community that the Government of the United States strongly opposes the recent extremist violence and obstructionist activity in Macedonia and southern Serbia and elsewhere in the Western Balkans. The concrete steps we are undertaking to block access by these groups and individuals to financial and material support will assist in restoring peace and stability in the Western Balkans region and help protect U.S. military forces and Government officials working towards that end. George W. Bush. The White House, June 27, 2001. SUSPENSION OF ENTRY AS IMMIGRANTS AND NONIMMIGRANTS OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR ACTIONS THAT THREATEN INTERNATIONAL STABILIZATION EFFORTS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS, AND PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR WARTIME ATROCITIES IN THAT REGION ---------- By the President of the United States of America a proclamation The United States has a vital interest in assuring peace and stability in Europe. In the Western Balkans, the United States is engaged, together with North Atlantic Treaty Organization Allies, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, United Nations missions, the European Union, and other international organizations in an effort to achieve peace, stability, reconciliation, and democratic development and to facilitate the region's integration into the European mainstream. The United States views full implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords in Bosnia and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 in Kosovo as critical to these efforts. In furtherance of these objectives, the United States has provided military, diplomatic, financial, and logistical support to international institutions established in the region and to civil and security authorities. The United States has a direct and significant interest in the success of such initiatives and in the safety of personnel involved in them, including numerous United States military and Government officials. In light of these objectives, I have determined that it is in the interests of the United States to restrict the entry into the United States of persons responsible for actions that threaten international stabilization efforts in the Western Balkans region, and of persons responsible for wartime atrocities committed in that region since 1991. Now, therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, including section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, hereby find that the unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of persons described in section 1 of this proclamation would, except as provided for in sections 2 and 3 of this proclamation, be detrimental to the interests of the United States. I therefore hereby proclaim that: Section 1. The immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of the following persons is hereby suspended: (a) Persons who, through violent or other acts: (i) seek to obstruct the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords (the ``Dayton Agreements'') or United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999; (ii) seek to undermine the authority or security of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, the international security presence in Kosovo known as the Kosovo Force, the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the international security presence in Bosnia known as the Stabilization Force, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, or other international organizations and entities present in the region pursuant to the Dayton Agreement or United Nations Security Council resolutions, including but not limited to Resolutions 827, 1031, and 1244; (iii) seek to intimidate or to prevent displaced persons or refugees from returning to their places of residence in any area or state of the Western Balkans region; or (iv) otherwise seek to undermine peace, stability, reconciliation, or democratic development in any area or state of the Western Balkans region. (b) Persons who are responsible for directing, planning, or carrying out wartime atrocities, including but not limited to acts in furtherance of ``ethnic cleansing,'' committed in any area or state of the Western Balkans region since 1991. Sec. 2. Section 1 of this proclamation shall not apply with respect to any person otherwise covered by section 1 where entry of such person would not be contrary to the interest of the United States. Sec. 3. Persons covered by sections 1 and 2 of this proclamation shall be identified by the Secretary of State or the Secretary's designee, in his or her sole discretion, pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary may establish under section 5 of this proclamation. Sec. 4. Nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to derogate from United States Government obligations under applicable international agreements. Sec. 5. The Secretary of State shall have responsibility for implementing this proclamation pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary may establish. Sec. 6. This proclamation is effective immediately and shall remain in effect until such time as the Secretary of State determines that it is no longer necessary and should be terminated, either in whole or in part. The Secretary of State shall advise the Attorney General of such determination, which shall become effective upon publication in the Federal Register. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth. George W. Bush.
Executive Order ---------- BLOCKING PROPERTY OF PERSONS WHO THREATEN INTERNATIONAL STABILIZATION EFFORTS IN THE WESTERN BALKANS By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of America, have determined that the actions of persons engaged in, or assisting, sponsoring, or supporting, (i) extremist violence in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, southern Serbia, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and elsewhere in the Western Balkans region, or (ii) acts obstructing implementation of the Dayton Accords in Bosnia or United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, in Kosovo, threaten the peace in or diminish the security and stability of those areas and the wider region, undermine the authority, efforts, and objectives of the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and other international organizations and entities present in those areas and the wider region, and endanger the safety of persons participating in or providing support to the activities of those organizations and entities, including United States military forces and Government officials. I find that such actions constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat. I hereby order: Section 1. (a) Except to the extent provided in section 203(b)(1), (3), and (4) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(1), (3), and (4)), the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (title IX, Public Law 106-387), and in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may hereafter be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the effective date, all property and interests in property of: (i) the persons listed in the Annex to this order; and (ii) persons designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, because they are found: (A) to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace in or diminishing the stability or security of any area or state in the Western Balkans region, undermining the authority, efforts, or objections of international organizations or entities present in the region, or endangering the safety of persons participating in or providing support to the activities of those international organizations or entities, or, (B) to have actively obstructed, or to pose a significant risk of actively obstructing, implementation of the Dayton Accords in Bosnia or United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 in Kosovo, or (C) materially to assist in, sponsor, or provide financial or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, such acts of violence or obstructionism, or (D) to be owned or controlled by, or acting or purporting to act directly or indirectly for or on behalf of, any of the foregoing persons, that are or hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in. (b) I hereby determine that the making of donations of the type specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by United States persons to persons designated in or pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in this order. Accordingly, the blocking of property and interests in property pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section includes, but is not limited to, the prohibition of the making by a United States person of any such donation to any such designated person, except as otherwise authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury. (c) The blocking of property and interests in property pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section includes, but is not limited to, the prohibition of the making or receiving by a United States person of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services to or for the benefit of a person designated in or pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section. Sec. 2. Any transaction by a United States person that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate, any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited. Any conspiracy formed to violate the prohibitions of this order is prohibited. Sec. 3. For the purposes of this order: (a) The term ``person'' means an individual or entity; (b) The term ``entity'' means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization; and (c) The term ``United States person'' means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States. Sec. 4. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to me by IEEPA, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order and, where appropriate, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury in a timely manner of the measures taken. Sec. 5. This order is not intended to create, nor does it create, any right, benefit, or privilege, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, its agencies, officers, or any other person. Sec. 6. (a) This order is effective at 12:01 eastern daylight time on June 27, 2001; (b) This order shall be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register. George W. Bush. The White House, June 26, 2001.