[House Document 117-61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




117th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 117-61


 
IMPOSING SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN PERSONS WITH RESPECT TO THE HUMANITARIAN 
                  AND HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS IN ETHIOPIA

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                     THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 AN EXECUTIVE ORDER IMPOSING SANCTIONS ON CERTAIN PERSONS WITH RESPECT 
TO THE HUMANITARIAN AND HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS IN ETHIOPIA, PURSUANT TO 50 
U.S.C. 1703(b); PUBLIC LAW 95-223, SEC. 204(b); (91 STAT. 1627) AND 50 
    U.S.C. 1641(b); PUBLIC LAW 94-412, SEC. 401(b); (90 STAT. 1257)



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 September 20, 2021.--Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
                         ordered to be printed
                         
                         
                                 __________
                                 
                                 
                                 
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE           
                                 
19-011			    WASHINGTON : 2021                                 
                                 
                         



                                           The White House,
                                    Washington, September 17, 2021.
Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Madam Speaker: Pursuant to 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.) (NEA), 
sections 212 (f) and 215 (a) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a)), and section 301 of 
title 3, United States Code, I hereby report that I have issued 
an Executive Order addressing the situation in and in relation 
to northern Ethiopia, which has been marked by activities that 
threaten the peace, security, and stability of Ethiopia and the 
greater Horn of Africa region. The widespread humanitarian 
crisis precipitated by the violent conflict in northern 
Ethiopia has left millions of people in need of humanitarian 
assistance and has placed an entire region on the brink of 
famine.
    I have declared a national emergency to deal with the 
threat posed by this crisis and authorized the Secretary of the 
Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to 
impose sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for or 
complicit in, or who have directly or indirectly engaged or 
attempted to engage in, actions or policies that threaten the 
peace, security, or stability of Ethiopia, or that have the 
purpose or effect of extending or expanding the crisis in 
northern Ethiopia or obstructing a ceasefire or a peace 
process; corruption or serious human rights violations; 
blocking the delivery or distribution of, or access to, 
humanitarian supplies; targeting civilians; planning, 
directing, or committing attacks against United Nations, 
African Union, or associated personnel; or actions or policies 
that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Ethiopia 
or its territorial integrity.
    I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
            Sincerely,
                                               Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

                            Executive Order

                              ----------                              


Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons With Respect to the Humanitarian 
                  and Human Rights Crisis in Ethiopia

    By the authority vested in me as President by 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.) (NEA), sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a)), and 
section 301 of title 3, United States Code,
    I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of 
America, find that the situation in and in relation to northern 
Ethiopia, which has been marked by activities that threaten the 
peace, security, and stability of Ethiopia and the greater Horn 
of Africa region--in particular, widespread violence, 
atrocities, and serious human rights abuse, including those 
involving ethnic-based violence, rape and other forms of 
gender-based violence, and obstruction of humanitarian 
operations--constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to 
the national security and foreign policy of the United States. 
I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.
    The widespread humanitarian crisis precipitated by the 
violent conflict in northern Ethiopia has left millions of 
people in need of humanitarian assistance and has placed an 
entire region on the brink of famine. While maintaining 
pressure on those persons responsible for the crisis, the 
United States will seek to ensure that appropriate personal 
remittances to non-blocked persons and humanitarian assistance 
to at-risk populations can flow to Ethiopia and the greater 
Horn of Africa region through legitimate and transparent 
channels, including governments, international organizations, 
and non-profit organizations. The United States supports 
ongoing international efforts to promote a negotiated ceasefire 
and political resolution of this crisis, to ensure the 
withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Ethiopia, and to promote the 
unity, territorial integrity, and stability of Ethiopia.
    Accordingly, I hereby order:
    Section 1. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to 
impose any of the sanctions described in section 2(a) of this 
order on any foreign person determined by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:
    (a) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have 
directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, any 
of the following:
          (i) actions or policies that threaten the peace, 
        security, or stability of Ethiopia, or that have the 
        purpose or effect of expanding or extending the crisis 
        in northern Ethiopia or obstructing a ceasefire or a 
        peace process;
          (ii) corruption or serious human rights abuse in or 
        with respect to northern Ethiopia;
          (iii) the obstruction of the delivery or distribution 
        of, or access to, humanitarian assistance in or with 
        respect to northern Ethiopia, including attacks on 
        humanitarian aid personnel or
          (iv) humanitarian projects; the targeting of 
        civilians through the commission of acts of violence in 
        or with respect to northern Ethiopia, including 
        involving abduction, forced displacement, or attacks on 
        schools, hospitals, religious sites, or locations where 
        civilians are seeking refuge, or any conduct that would 
        constitute a violation of international humanitarian 
        law;
          (v) planning, directing, or committing attacks in or 
        with respect to northern Ethiopia against United 
        Nations or associated personnel or African Union or 
        associated personnel;
          (vi) actions or policies that undermine democratic 
        processes or institutions in Ethiopia; or
          (vii) actions or policies that undermine the 
        territorial integrity of Ethiopia;
    (b) to be a military or security force that operates or has 
operated in northern Ethiopia on or after November 1, 2020;
    (c) to be an entity, including any government entity or a 
political party, that has engaged in, or whose members have 
engaged in, activities that have contributed to the crisis in 
northern Ethiopia or have obstructed a ceasefire or peace 
process to resolve such crisis;
    (d) to be a political subdivision, agency, or 
instrumentality of the Government of Ethiopia, the Government 
of Eritrea or its ruling People's Front for Democracy and 
Justice, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the Amhara 
regional government, or the Amhara regional or irregular 
forces;
    (e) to be a spouse or adult child of any sanctioned person;
    (f) to be or have been a leader, official, senior executive 
officer, or member of the board of directors of any of the 
following, where the leader, official, senior executive 
officer, or director is responsible for or complicit in, or who 
has directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, 
any activity contributing to the crisis in northern Ethiopia:
          (i) an entity, including a government entity or a 
        military or security force, operating in northern 
        Ethiopia during the tenure of the leader, official, 
        senior executive officer, or director;
          (ii) an entity that has, or whose members have, 
        engaged in any activity contributing to the crisis in 
        northern Ethiopia or obstructing a ceasefire or a peace 
        process to resolve such crisis during the tenure of the 
        leader, official, senior executive officer, or 
        director; or
          (iii) the Government of Ethiopia, the Government of 
        Eritrea or its ruling People's Front for Democracy and 
        Justice, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the 
        Amhara regional government, or the Amhara regional or 
        irregular forces, on or after November 1, 2020;
    (g) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided 
financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or 
services to or in support of, any sanctioned person; or
    (h) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or 
purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, 
any sanctioned person.
    Sec. 2. (a) When the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State, has determined that a 
foreign person meets any of the criteria described in section 
1(a)-(h) of this order, the Secretary of the Treasury is 
authorized to select, in consultation with the Secretary of 
State, one or more of the sanctions set forth in subsections 
(a)(i)(A)-(E) or (a)(ii)(A)-(B) of this section to impose on 
that foreign person:
          (i) the Secretary of the Treasury shall take the 
        following actions as necessary to implement the 
        selected sanctions:
                  (A) block all property and interests in 
                property of the sanctioned person that are in 
                the United States, that hereafter come within 
                the United States, or that are or hereafter 
                come within the possession or control of any 
                United States person, and provide that such 
                property and interests in property may not be 
                transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or 
                otherwise dealt in;
                  (B) prohibit any United States person from 
                investing in or purchasing significant amounts 
                of equity or debt instruments of the sanctioned 
                person;
                  (C) prohibit any United States financial 
                institution from making loans or providing 
                credit to the sanctioned person;
                  (D) prohibit any transactions in foreign 
                exchange that are subject to the jurisdiction 
                of the United States and in which the 
                sanctioned person has any interest; or
                  (E) impose on the leader, official, senior 
                executive officer, or director of the 
                sanctioned person, or on persons performing 
                similar functions and with similar authorities 
                as such leader, official, senior executive 
                officer, or director, any of the sanctions 
                described in subsections (a)(i)(A)-(D) of this 
                section that are applicable.
          (ii) the heads of the relevant executive departments 
        and agencies, in consultation with the Secretary of the 
        Treasury, shall take the following actions as necessary 
        and appropriate to implement the sanctions selected by 
        the Secretary of the Treasury:
                  (A) actions required to deny any specific 
                license, grant, or any other specific 
                permission or authority under any statute or 
                regulation that requires the prior review and 
                approval of the United States Government as a 
                condition for the export or reexport of goods 
                or technology to the sanctioned person; or
                  (B) actions required to deny a visa to and 
                exclude from the United States any noncitizen 
                whom the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
                consultation with the Secretary of State, 
                determines is a leader, official, senior 
                executive officer, or director, or a 
                shareholder with a controlling interest in, the 
                sanctioned person.
    (b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section 
apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in 
regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued 
pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract 
entered into or any license or permit granted before the date 
of this order. No entity shall be blocked pursuant to this 
order solely because it is owned in whole or in part, directly 
or indirectly, by one or more sanctioned persons, unless the 
entity is itself a sanctioned person and the sanctions in 
section 2(a)(i)(A) of this order are imposed on the entity.
    Sec. 3. The prohibitions in section 2(a) of this order 
include:
    (a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, 
goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person 
whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant 
to this order; and
    (b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, 
goods, or services from any such person.
    Sec. 4. (a) The unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant 
entry into the United States of noncitizens determined to meet 
one or more of the criteria in section 1 of this order, and for 
whom the sanctions described in section 2(a)(i)(A) or section 
2(a)(ii)(B) of this order have been selected, would be 
detrimental to the interests of the United States, and the 
entry of such persons into the United States, as immigrants or 
nonimmigrants, is hereby suspended, except when the Secretary 
of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, 
determines that the person's entry would not be contrary to the 
interests of the United States, including when the Secretary of 
State or the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, so 
determines, based on a recommendation of the Attorney General, 
that the person's entry would further important United States 
law enforcement objectives.
    (b) The Secretary of State shall implement this order as it 
applies to visas pursuant to such procedures as the Secretary 
of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, may establish.
    (c) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall implement this 
order as it applies to the entry of noncitizens pursuant to 
such procedures as the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State, may establish.
    (d) Such persons shall be treated by this section in the 
same manner as persons covered by section 1 of Proclamation 
8693 of July 24, 2011 (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to 
United Nations Security Council Travel Bans and International 
Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).
    Sec. 5. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has the 
purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or 
attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this 
order is prohibited.
    (b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the 
prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
    Sec. 6. I hereby determine that the making of donations of 
the types of articles specified in section 203(b) (2) of IEEPA 
(50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of any person 
whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant 
to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with 
the national emergency declared in this order, and I hereby 
prohibi1 such donations as provided by section 2 of this order.
    Sec. 7. For the purposes of this order:
    (a) the term ``entity'' means a partnership, association, 
trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other 
organization;
    (b) the term ``Government of Ethiopia'' means the 
Government of Ethiopia, any political subdivision, agency, or 
instrumentality thereof, including the National Bank of 
Ethiopia, and any person owned, controlled, or directed by, or 
acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Ethiopia;
    (c) the term ``Government of Eritrea'' means the Government 
of Eritrea, any political subdivision, agency, or 
instrumentality thereof, including the Bank of Eritrea, and any 
person owned, controlled, or directed by, or acting for or on 
behalf of, the Government of Eritrea;
    (d) the term ``noncitizen'' means any person who is not a 
citizen or noncitizen national of the United States;
    (e) the term ``person'' means an individual or entity;
    (f) the term ``sanctioned person'' means a foreign person 
that the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the 
Secretary of State, has determined meets any of the criteria 
described in section 1 of this order and has selected, in 
consultation with the Secretary of State, one or more of the 
sanctions set forth in section 2(a) of this order to impose on 
that foreign person; and
    (g) the term ``United States person'' means any United 
States citizen, lawful permanent resident, 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. 8. For those persons whose property and interests in 
property are blocked or affected by this order who might have a 
constitutional presence in the United States, I find that 
because of the ability to transfer funds and other assets 
instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be 
taken pursuant to this order would render those measures 
ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to 
be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in 
this order, there need be no prior notice of a listing or 
determination made pursuant to section 1 of this order.
    Sec. 9. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with 
the Secretary of State, is authorized to take such actions, 
including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to 
employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be 
necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The 
Secretary of the Treasury may, consistent with applicable law, 
redelegate any of these functions within the Department of the 
Treasury. All executive departments and agencies of the United 
States shall take all appropriate measures within their 
authority to implement this order.
    Sec. 10. Nothing in this order shall prohibit transactions 
for the conduct of the official business of the Federal 
Government by employees, grantees, and contractors thereof.
    Sec. 11. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
with the Secretary of State, is authorized to submit recurring 
and final reports to the Congress on the national emergency 
declared in this order, consistent with section 401(c) of the 
NEA (50 U.S.C. 1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 
1703(c)).
    Sec. 12. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to 
impair or otherwise affect:
          (i) the authority granted by law to an executive 
        department or agency, or the head thereof; or
          (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of 
        Management and Budget relating to budgetary, 
        administrative, or legislative proposals.
    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
applicable law and subject to the availability of 
appropriations.
    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any 
right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law 
or in equity by any party against the United States, its 
departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
agents, or any other person.
                                               Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
    The White House, September 17, 2021.

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