[House Document 107-24]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 107-24
PROHIBITION OF THE IMPORTATION OF ROUGH DIAMONDS FROM SIERRA LEONE
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
TRANSMITTING
HIS REPORT ISSUING A NEW EXECUTIVE ORDER THAT PROHIBITS THE IMPORTATION
OF ROUGH DIAMONDS FROM SIERRA LEONE
January 20, 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, January 19, 2001.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: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 foreign policy of
the United States by Sierra Leone's insurgent Revolutionary
United Front's (RUF's) illicit trade in diamonds from Sierra
Leone to fund its operations and procurement of weapons and by
the RUF's flagrant violation of the Lome Peace Agreement of
July 7, 1999, between the Government of Sierra Leone and the
RUF. I also have exercised by statutory authority to issue an
Executive Order that prohibits the importation into the United
States of all rough diamonds from Sierra Leone except for those
importations of rough diamonds that are accompanied by a
Certificate of Origin or other satisfactory documentation
demonstrating that the rough diamonds were legally exported
from Sierra Leone with the approval of the Government of Sierra
Leone. These actions are mandated in part by United Nations
Security Council Resolution 1306 of July 5, 2000.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, is authorized to issue regulations in
exercise of my authorities under IEEPA and the United Nations
Participation Act, 22 U.S.C. 287c, to implement this
prohibition. All Federal agencies are also directed to take
actions within their authority to carry out the provisions of
the Executive Order.
I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
The order was effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on
January 19, 2001.
I have authorized these measures in response to the RUF's
illicit trade in diamonds from Sierra Leone to fund its
operations and procurement of weapons and in response to the
actions and policies of the RUF in failing to fully abide by
the terms of the Lome Peace Agreement of July 7, 1999. The
people of Sierra Leone have suffered the ravages of the brutal
civil war for nearly a decade. The world's conscience has been
shocked by the horrific actions of the RUF in Sierra Leone
during this conflict. The widespread crimes against humanity
perpetrated by RUF forces include mass amputations, rape,
summary execution, and forced labor.
In late May 2000, United Nations Secretary General Annan
encouraged the U.N. Security Council to consider taking
measures to prevent the RUF from reaping the benefits of its
illicit trade in diamonds that had been plundered from Sierra
Leone. On July 5, 2000, the U.N. Security Council adopted
Resolution 1306. The resolution determines that the situation
in Sierra Leone continues to constitute a threat to
international peace and security in the region, expresses
concern at the role played by the illicit trade in diamonds in
fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone, and decides that all
states shall take the necessary measures to prohibit the direct
or indirect importation of all rough diamonds from Sierra Leone
to their territory. The resolution, in recognition of the
economic importance of the legitimate diamond trade to Sierra
Leone, further decides that rough diamonds controlled by the
Government of Sierra Leone through a Certificate of Origin
regime shall be exempt from the trade embargo.
Military forces of the Government of Sierra Leone and
Military Observer Group forces provided by the Economic
Community of West African States were engaged in military
operations in Sierra Leone against the RUF until mid-1999. At
that time, the Government of Sierra Leone and the RUF signed
the Lome Peace Agreement, which provides for an end to
hostilities and the disarmament, demobilization, and
reintegration of the insurgent RUF forces. The United Nations
Security Council in U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1270 and
1289 established the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone
(UNAMSIL) to facilitate implementation of the Lome Peace
Agreement and to provide security at key locations and
government buildings and at all sites of the disarmament,
demobilization, and reintegration programs, among other tasks.
The Lome Peace Agreement brought an end, sadly only
temporarily, to the killings and the atrocities perpetrated by
the RUF.
RUF forces have repeatedly violated the terms of the Lome
Peace Agreement throughout this spring, when they engaged in
deliberate and unprovoked armed attacks on U.N. peacekeepers
and committed serious abuses against civilians and
international and national aid workers. In May 2000, as UNAMSIL
expanded its efforts to establish monitoring and disarmament
sites in or near RUF-controlled territory, RUF forces initiated
military activity in those areas, killing U.N. peacekeepers and
capturing or isolating hundreds of UNAMSIL personnel. These
actions brought the disarmament, demobilization, and
reintegration processes agreed to in the Lome Peace Agreement
to a virtual standstill and represent a direct hostile
challenge to U.S. foreign policy objectives in the region,
which include restoration of peace in Sierra Leone and
promotion of democracy and the rule of law throughout the
region. Failure to respond to this challenge would encourage
other potential rogue organizations to transgress the rule-
based international order, which is crucial to the peace and
prosperity of the United States.
For the reasons discussed above, the RUF's illicit trade in
diamonds from Sierra Leone and its flagrant violation of the
Lome Peace Agreement constitute an unusual and extraordinary
threat to the foreign policy of the United States. The measures
we are taking will serve to bring an end to the illicit arms-
for-diamonds trade through which the RUF perpetuates the tragic
conflict in Sierra Leone. They also reflect our outrage at the
RUF's repeated, widespread, and serious violations of the Lome
Peace Agreement and the RUF's continuing hostilities against
the people of Sierra Leone and UNAMSIL personnel.
Sincerely,
William J. Clinton.
Executive Order
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Prohibiting the Importation of Rough Diamonds From Sierra Leone
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.), section 5 of the United Nations
Participation Act of 1945, as amended (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA),
and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, and in view of
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1306 of July 5,
2000,
I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of
America, take note that the people of Sierra Leone have
suffered the ravages of a brutal civil war for nearly 10 years,
and that the United Nations Security Council has determined
that the situation in Sierra Leone constitutes a threat to
international peace and security in the region and also has
expressed concerns regarding the role played by the illicit
trade in diamonds in fueling the conflict in Sierra Leone.
Sierra Leone's insurgent Revolutionary United Front's (RUF's)
illicit trade in diamonds from Sierra Leone to fund its
operations and procurement of weapons, the RUF's flagrant
violation of the Lome Peace Agreement of July 7, 1999, and its
attacks on personnel of the United Nations Mission in Sierra
Leone are direct challenges to the United States foreign policy
objectives in the region as well as a direct challenge to the
rule-based international order which is crucial to the peace
and prosperity of the United States. Therefore, I find these
actions constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the
foreign policy of the United States and hereby declare a
national emergency to deal with that threat. In order to
implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1306 and
to ensure that the direct or indirect importation into the
United States of rough diamonds from Sierra Leone will not
contribute financial support to aggressive actions by the RUF
or to the RUF's procurement of weapons, while at the same time
seeking to avoid undermining the legitimate diamond trade or
diminishing confidence in the integrity of the legitimate
diamond industry, I hereby order:
Section 1. Except to the extent provided in section 2 of
this order and to the extent provided in regulations, orders,
directives, or licenses issued pursuant to this order, and
notwithstanding the existence of any rights or obligations
conferred or imposed by any international agreement or any
contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to
the effective date of this order, the direct or indirect
importation into the United States of all rough diamonds from
Sierra Leone on or after the effective date of this order is
prohibited.
Sec. 2. The prohibition in section 1 of this order shall
not apply to the importation of rough diamonds controlled
through the Certificate of Origin regime of the Government of
Sierra Leone.
Sec. 3. Any transaction by a United States person or within
the United States 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.
Sec. 4. 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, or other organization;
(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;
(d) the term ``rough diamond'' means all unworked diamonds
classifiable in heading 7102 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States; and
(e) the term ``controlled through the Certificate of Origin
regime of the Government of Sierra Leone'' means accompanied by
a Certificate of Origin or other documentation that
demonstrates to the satisfaction of the United States Customs
Service (or analogous officials of a United States territory or
possession with its own customs administration) that the rough
diamonds were legally exported from Sierra Leone with the
approval of the Government of Sierra Leone.
Sec. 5. 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 the President by IEEPA and
UNPA, 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.
Sec. 6. 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. 7. This order is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern
standard time on January 19, 2001.
William J. Clinton.
The White House, January 18, 2001.