[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 24, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14301-14302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7324]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Secretary
[Public Notice--3004]


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

[[Page 14302]]

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 restriction on 
the ground that such exemptions were in the national interest. The 
restriction has been extended for additional one-year periods since 
then, and was last extended on March 20, 1998.
    Conditions in Iraq remain unsettled and hazardous, and tensions 
remain high. Iraq continues to refuse to comply with UN Security 
Council resolutions to fully declare and destroy its weapons of mass 
destruction and missiles while mounting a virulent public campaign in 
which the United States is blamed for maintenance of U.N. sanctions. 
Between December 14-18, 1998, this refusal resulted in extensive 
coalition air strikes against Iraqi military targets. Since December 
1998, the Iraqi Airforce has violated the northern and southern no-fly 
zones on more than 100 occasions, and coalition aircraft have been 
fired upon in more than 60 incidents.
    Local conflicts within Iraq also pose hazards to travellers. 
Military repression of Shia communities continues in southern Iraq with 
reports that hundreds of persons were summarily killed in security 
sweeps during 1998. In the north, tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers 
remain poised for possible military operations against Kurd, Turkomen, 
and Assyria Iraqis.
    Iraq's economy was severely damaged during the Gulf War and 
continues to be affected by the government of Iraq's refusal to 
implement fully the UN's Oil for Food program. 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 alleged 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. 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 travellers''.
    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 March 20, 2000, unless sooner 
extended or revoked by Public Notice.

    Dated: March 18, 1999.
Madeleine K. Albright,
Secretary of State.
[FR Doc. 99-7324 Filed 3-22-99; 2:36 pm]
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