For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 5, 2004
Presidential Letter
Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate
Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)
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 decla-ration, 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. Consistent with this provision, I have sent the
enclosed notice, stating that the Libya emergency is to continue in
effect beyond January 7, 2004, to the Federal Register for
publication. The most recent notice continuing this emergency was
published in the Federal Register on January 6, 2003 (68 Fed. Reg.
661).
On September 12, 2003, the United Nations Security Council adopted
Resolution 1506 (UNSCR 1506), ending the U.N. sanctions against Libya.
These U.N. sanctions were imposed in 1992 and 1993 as a result of
Libyan involvement in the terrorist bombings of Pan Am 103 and UTA 772,
and included travel restrictions, an arms embargo, and financial
sanctions. The UNSCR 1506 lifted these sanctions after Libya addressed
the requirements of the relevant UNSC Resolutions, including making
arrangements to compensate the families of the victims and accepting
responsi-bility for the acts of its officials in the bombing of Pan Am
103. The United States abstained from voting on the lifting of the
U.N. sanctions, and it made clear that it continued to have serious
concerns about other Libyan policies and actions, including Libya's
pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, Libya's role with regard to
terrorism, and Libya's poor human rights record.
On December 19, 2003, Prime Minister Blair and I announced
separately that Libya's leader, Colonel Muammar Qadhafi, had agreed to
eliminate all elements of Libya's chemical and nuclear weapons program,
declare all nuclear activities to the Inter-national Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), accept international inspections to ensure Libya's
complete adherence to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and sign the
IAEA Additional Protocol, accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention,
eliminate ballistic missiles beyond 300 kilometer range, and
immediately and unconditionally allow inspectors from international
organizations to enter Libya. Libya's agreement marks the beginning of
a process that can lead to Libya rejoining the international community,
but its declara-tion of December 19, 2003, must be followed by
verification of concrete steps.
Despite the positive developments, the crisis with respect to Libya
has not been fully resolved, and I have therefore determined that it is
necessary to continue the national emergency declared with respect to
Libya and maintain in force the comprehensive sanctions against Libya.
Sincerely,
GEORGE W. BUSH
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