[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
[November 15, 1999]
[Page 2098]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on United Nations Sanctions Against the Taliban
November 15, 1999

    Today the President of the United Nations Security Council certified that the economic sanctions against the 
Taliban laid out in Resolution 1267 one month ago are now in effect. 
These sanctions are being implemented because the Taliban has spurned 
the unanimous demand of the Security Council and refused to deliver 
Usama bin Ladin to a country where he can 
face justice for his acts of terrorism, including the bombing of 
America's Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
    The international community has again spoken with one voice, and its 
resolve to combat the threat of international terrorism is clear. The 
U.N. sanctions parallel the unilateral ones that the United States 
placed on the Taliban in July and will result in the restriction of 
landing rights of airlines owned, leased, or operated by or on behalf of 
the Taliban, the freezing of Taliban accounts around the world, and the 
prohibition of investment in any undertaking owned or controlled by the 
Taliban. I ask all the nations of the world to do their utmost so that 
these sanctions are implemented fully and swiftly.
    The message to the Taliban is unmistakable: bin Ladin's training camps must be closed; the threats and 
operational activity must cease, and bin Ladin must answer for his 
crimes. The people of Afghanistan have already paid a high price in 
isolation because of the Taliban's continued harboring of this 
terrorist, and that toll will now increase. It is time for the Taliban 
to heed the will of the United Nations and end the threat of terrorism 
that emanates from within Afghanistan.