[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 37 (Monday, February 25, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8572-8573]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-4419]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Secretary

[Public Notice 3920]


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 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 through February 28, 2002.
    Conditions in Iraq remain hazardous for Americans. 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. The United Nations has 
withdrawn all U.S. citizen UN humanitarian workers from Iraq because of 
the Government of Iraq's stated inability to protect their safety. Iraq 
regularly fires anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles at 
U.S. and coalition aircraft patrolling the no-fly zones over northern 
and southern Iraq, and regularly illuminates U.S. and coalition 
aircraft with target-acquisition radar.
    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

[[Page 8573]]

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, and pursuant to the 
authorities set forth in 22 U.S.C. 211a, Executive Order 11295, and 22 
CFR 51.73, 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 travel to, or for use in, Iraq unless specifically validated for 
such travel under the authority of the Secretary of State. The proposed 
extension will continue to exclude from its coverage persons resident 
in Iraq since February 1, 1991, and professional journalists. In the 
absence of the exclusion, those journalists and long-time residents 
would have to apply for specific validations; we would expect to grant 
any such requests, and therefore see no reason to revisit the 
exclusion.
    The Public Notice shall be effective from the date it is published 
in the Federal Register and shall expire at midnight on February 28, 
2003, unless sooner extended or revoked by Public Notice.

    Dated: February 13, 2002.
Colin L. Powell,
Secretary of State, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 02-4419 Filed 2-22-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-10-P