[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 52 (Friday, March 15, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10839-10840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6363]



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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Secretary
[Public Notice 2357]


Extension of the Restriction on the Use of United States 
Passports for Travel To, In, or Through Iraq

    On February 1, 1991, pursuant to the authority of 22 U.S.C. 211a 
and Executive Order 11295 (31 FR 10603), and in accordance with 22 CFR 
51.73 (a)(2) and (a)(3), all United States passports, with certain 
exceptions, were declared invalid for travel to, in, or through Iraq 
unless specifically validated for such travel. The restriction was 
originally imposed because armed hostilities then were taking place in 
Iraq and Kuwait, and because there was an imminent danger to the safety 
of United States travelers to Iraq. American citizens then residing in 
Iraq and American professional reporters and journalists on assignment 
there were exempted from the restrictions on the ground that such 
exemptions were in the national interest. The restriction was extended 
for additional one-year periods on February 18, 1992, February 23, 
1993, February 26, 1994, and March 3, 1995.
    Although armed hostilities have ended, conditions in Iraq remain 
unsettled and hazardous. Regional conflicts continue in northern Iraq 
between Kurdish ethnic groups and Iraqi security forces. In southern 
Iraq, military repression of the Shia communities is severe, rendering 
conditions unsafe. Iraq's economy was severely damaged during the Gulf 
War and continues to be affected by the U.N. economic sanctions. Basic 
modern medical care and medicines may not be available to our citizens 
in case of emergency.
    U.S. citizens and other foreigners working inside Kuwait near the 
Iraqi borders have been detained by Iraqi authorities in the past and 
sentenced to lengthy jail terms for illegal entry into the country. 
Although our interests are represented by the Embassy of Poland in 
Baghdad, its ability to obtain consular access to detained U.S. 
citizens and to perform emergency services is constrained by Iraqi 
unwillingness to cooperate.

[[Page 10840]]

    In light of these circumstances, I have determined that Iraq 
continues to be a country ``* * * where there is imminent danger to the 
public health or physical safety of United States travelers.''
    Accordingly, United States passports shall continue to be invalid 
for use in travel to, in, or through Iraq unless specifically validated 
for such travel under the authority of the Secretary of State. The 
restriction shall not apply to American citizens residing in Iraq on 
February 1, 1991, who continue to reside there, or to American 
professional reporters or journalists on assignment there.
    The Public Notice shall be effective upon publication in the 
Federal Register and shall expire at the end of one year unless sooner 
extended or revoked by Public Notice.

    Dated: March 8, 1996.
Warren Christopher,
Secretary of State.
[FR Doc. 96-6363 Filed 3-13-96; 9:57 am]
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