    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
    [July 16, 2008]
    [Page 1033]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress on Continuation of the National Emergency With
    Respect to the Former Liberian Regime of Charles Taylor
    July 16, 2008

    To the Congress of the United States:
        Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d))
    provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless,
    prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President
    publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice
    stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the
    anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the
    enclosed notice to the Federal Register for publication, stating that
    the national emergency and related measures dealing with the former
    Liberian regime of Charles Taylor are to continue in effect beyond July
    22, 2008.
        Today, Liberia continues its peaceful transition to a democratic
    order under the administration of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. The
    Government of Liberia has implemented reforms that have allowed for the
    removal of international sanctions on Liberian timber and diamonds, and
    Liberia is participating in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
    and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative to ensure that its
    natural resources are used to benefit the people and country of Liberia,
    rather than to fuel conflict. Charles Taylor is standing trial in The
    Hague by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. However, stability in
    Liberia is still fragile.
        The regulations implementing Executive Order 13348 clarify that the
    subject of this national emergency has been and remains limited to the
    former Liberian regime of Charles Taylor and specified other persons and
    not the country, citizens, Government, or Central Bank of Liberia.
        The actions and policies of former Liberian President Charles Taylor
    and other persons--in particular their unlawful depletion of Liberian
    resources, their trafficking in illegal arms, and their formation of
    irregular militia--continue to undermine Liberia's transition to
    democracy and the orderly development of its political, administrative,
    and economic institutions and resources. These actions and policies pose
    an unusual and extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of the United
    States, and for these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to
    continue the national emergency with respect to the former Liberian
    regime of Charles Taylor.

                                                              George W. Bush

    The White House,

    July 16, 2008.

    Note: The notice is listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.