[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 152 (Tuesday, November 4, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S11666]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MESSAGES FROM THE PRESIDENT

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REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDER BLOCKING SUDANESE GOVERNMENT PROPERTY AND 
 PROHIBITING TRANSACTIONS WITH SUDAN--MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT--PM 79

  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the President of the United States, together with an accompanying 
report; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs:

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), I hereby report to the Congress that I 
have exercised my statutory authority to declare that the policies of 
the Government of Sudan constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat 
to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and to 
declare a national emergency to deal with the threat.
  Pursuant to this legal authority, I have blocked Sudanese 
governmental assets in the United States. I have also prohibited 
certain transactions, including the following: (1) the importation into 
the United States of any goods or services of Sudanese origin, other 
than information or informational materials; (2) the exportation or 
reexportation to Sudan of any nonexempt goods, technology, or services 
from the United States; (3) the facilitation by any United States 
person of the exportation or reexportation of goods, technology, or 
services from Sudan to any destination, or to Sudan from any 
destination; (4) the performance by any United States person of any 
contract, including a financing contract, in support of an industrial, 
commercial, public utility, or governmental project in Sudan; (5) the 
grant or extension of credits or loans by any United States person to 
the Government of Sudan; and (6) any transaction by any United States 
person relating to transportation of cargo to, from, or through Sudan, 
or by Sudanese vessel or aircraft.
  We intend to license only those activities that serve U.S. interests. 
Transactions necessary to conduct the official business of the United 
States Government and the United Nations are exempted. This order and 
subsequent licenses will allow humanitarian, diplomatic, and 
journalistic activities to continue. Other activities may be considered 
for licensing on a case-by-case basis based on their merits. We will 
continue to permit regulated transfers of fees and stipends from the 
Government of Sudan to Sudanese students in the United States. Among 
the other activities we may consider licensing are those permitting 
American citizens resident in Sudan to make payments for their routine 
living expenses, including taxes and utilities; the importation of 
certain products unavailable from other sources, such as gum arabic; 
and products to ensure civilian aircraft safety.
  I have decided to impose comprehensive sanctions in response to the 
Sudanese government's continued provision of sanctuary and support for 
terrorist groups, its sponsorship of regional insurgencies that 
threaten neighboring governments friendly to the United States, its 
continued prosecution of a devastating civil war, and its abysmal human 
rights record that includes the denial of religious freedom and 
inadequate steps to eradicate slavery in the country.
  The behavior of the Sudanese government directly threatens stability 
in the region and poses a direct threat to the people and interests of 
the United States. Only a fundamental change in Sudan's policies will 
enhance the peace and security of people in the United States, Sudan, 
and around the world. My Administration will continue to work with the 
Congress to develop the most effective policies in this regard.
  The above-described measures, many of which reflect congressional 
concerns, will immediately demonstrate to the Sudanese government the 
seriousness of our concern with the situation in that country. It is 
particularly important to increase pressure on Sudan to engage 
seriously during the current round of negotiations taking place now in 
Nairobi. The sanctions will also deprive the Sudanese government of the 
material and financial benefits of conducting trade and financial 
transactions with the United States.
  The prohibitions set forth in this order shall be effective as of 
12:01 a.m., eastern standard time, November 4, 1997, and shall be 
transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register. The 
Executive order provides 30 days in which to complete trade 
transactions with Sudan covered by contracts that predate the order and 
the performance of preexisting financing agreements for those trade 
initiatives.
                                                  William J. Clinton.  
  The White House, November 3, 1997.

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