U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 

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89–011 2001

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

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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.

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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 penVerDate 11-MAY-2000 07:18 Jul 17, 2001 Jkt 089011 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HD100.XXX pfrm03 PsN: HD100
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alties 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).

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