[House Document 104-25]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





                                     

        104th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House 
Document 104-25


 
  DEVELOPMENTS CONCERNING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO HAITI

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

  A REPORT ON DEVELOPMENTS SINCE HIS LAST REPORT OF OCTOBER 13, 1994, 
CONCERNING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO HAITI, PURSUANT TO 50 
                  U.S.C. 1641(c) AND 50 U.S.C. 1703(c)




  February 3, 1995.--Message and accompanying papers referred to the 
     Committee on International Relations and ordered to be printed
To the Congress of the United States:
    1. In December 1990, the Haitian people elected Jean-
Bertrand Aristide as their President by an overwhelming margin 
in a free and fair election. The United States praised Haiti's 
success in peacefully implementing its democratic 
constitutional system and provided significant political and 
economic support to the new government. The Haitian military 
abruptly interrupted the consolidation of Haiti's new democracy 
when, in September 1991, it illegally and violently ousted 
President Aristide from office and drove him into exile.
    2. The United States, on its own and with the Organization 
of American States (OAS), immediately imposed sanctions against 
the illegal regime. Upon the recommendation of the legitimate 
government of President Aristide and of the OAS, the United 
Nations Security Council imposed incrementally a universal 
embargo on Haiti, beginning June 16, 1993, with trade 
restrictions on certain strategic commodities. The United 
States actively supported the efforts of the OAS and the United 
Nations to restore democracy to Haiti and to bring about 
President Aristide's return by facilitating negotiations 
between the Haitian parties. The United States and the 
international community also offered material assistance within 
the context of an eventual negotiated settlement of the Haitian 
crisis to support the return to democracy, build constitutional 
structures, and foster economic well-being.
    The continued defiance of the will of the international 
community by the illegal regime led to an intensification of 
bilateral and multilateral economic sanctions against Haiti in 
May 1994. The U.N. Security Council on May 6 adopted Resolution 
917, imposing comprehensive trade sanctions and other measures 
on Haiti. This was followed by a succession of unilateral U.S. 
sanctions designed to isolate the illegal regime. To augment 
embargo enforcement, the United States and other countries 
entered into a cooperative endeavor with the Dominican Republic 
to monitor that country's enforcement of sanctions along its 
land border and in its coastal waters.
    Defying coordinated international efforts, the illegal 
military regime in Haiti remained intransigent for some time. 
Internal repression continued to worsen, exemplified by the 
expulsion in July 1994 of the U.N./O.A.S.-sponsored 
International Civilian Mission (ICM) human rights observers. 
Responding to the threat to peace and security in the region, 
the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 940 on July 31, 
1994, authorizing the formation of a multinational force to use 
all necessary means to facilitate the departure from Haiti of 
the military leadership and the return of legitimate 
authorities including President Aristide.
    In the succeeding weeks, the international community under 
U.S. leadership assembled a multinational coalition force to 
carry out this mandate. At my request, former President Carter, 
Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sam Nunn, and 
former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell went 
to Haiti on September 16 to meet with the de facto Haitian 
leadership. The threat of imminent military intervention 
combined with determined diplomacy achieved agreement in Port-
au-Prince on September 18 for the de facto leaders to 
relinquish power by October 15. United States forces in the 
vanguard of the multinational coalition force drawn from 26 
countries began a peaceful deployment in Haiti on September 19 
and the military leaders have since relinquished power.
    In a spirit of reconciliation and reconstruction, on 
September 25 President Aristide called for the immediate easing 
of sanctions so that the work of rebuilding could begin. In 
response to this request, on September 26 in an address before 
the United Nations General Assembly, I announced by intention 
to suspend all unilateral sanctions against Haiti except those 
that affected the military leaders and their immediate 
supporters and families. On September 29, the U.N. Security 
Council adopted Resolution 944 terminating U.N.-imposed 
sanctions as of the day after President Aristide returned to 
Haiti.
    On October 15, President Aristide returned to Haiti to 
assume his official responsibilities. Effective October 16, 
1994, by Executive Order No. 12932 (59 Fed. Reg. 52403), 
October 14, 1994), I terminated the national emergency declared 
on October 4, 1991, in Executive Order No. 12775, along with 
all sanctions with respect to Haiti imposed in that Executive 
order, subsequent executive orders, and the Department of the 
Treasury regulations to deal with that emergency. This 
termination does not affect compliance and enforcement actions 
involving prior transactions or violations of the sanctions.
    3. This report is submitted to the Congress pursuant to 50 
U.S.C. 1641(c) and 1703(c). It is not a report on all U.S. 
activities with respect to Haiti, but discusses only those 
Administration actions and expenses since my last report 
(October 13, 1994) that are directly related to the national 
emergency with respect to Haiti declared in Executive Order No. 
12775, as implemented pursuant to that order and Executive 
Orders Nos. 12779, 12853, 12872, 12914, 12917, 12920, and 
12922.
    4. The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign 
Assets Control (FAC) amended the Haitian Transactions 
Regulations, 31 C.F.R. Part 580 (the ``HTR'') on December 27, 
1994 (59 Fed. Reg. 66476, December 27, 1994), to add section 
580.524, indicating the termination of sanctions pursuant to 
Executive Order No. 12932, effective October 16, 1994. The 
effect of this amendment is to authorize all transactions 
previously prohibited by subpart B of the HTR or by the 
previously stated Executive orders. Reports due under general 
or specific license must still be filed with FAC covering 
activities up until the effective date of this termination. 
Enforcement actions with respect to past violations of the 
sanctions are not affected by the termination of sanctions. A 
copy of the FAC amendment is attached.
    5. The total expenses incurred by the Federal Government 
during the period of the national emergency with respect to 
Haiti from October 4, 1991, through October 15, 1994, that are 
directly attributable to the authorities conferred by the 
declaration of a national emergency with respect to Haiti are 
estimated to be approximately $6.2 million, most of which 
represent wage and salary costs for Federal personnel. This 
estimate has been revised downward substantially from the sum 
of estimates previously reported in order to eliminate certain 
previously reported costs incurred with respect to Haiti, but 
not directly attributable to the exercise of powers and 
authorities conferred by the declaration of the terminated 
national emergency with respect to Haiti.
    Thus, with the termination of sanctions, this is the last 
periodic report that will be submitted pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 
1703(c) and also constitutes the last semiannual report and 
final report on Administration expenditures required pursuant 
to 50 U.S.C. 1641(c).

                                                William J. Clinton.
    The White House, February 3, 1995.