For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 24, 2001
President Declares National Emergency
To the Congress of the United States
Pursuant to section 204(b) of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(b) (IEEPA), and section 301 of the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1631, I hereby report that I have exercised my statutory authority to declare a national emergency in response to the unusual and extraordinary threat posed to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States by grave acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism committed by foreign terrorists, including the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, New York, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. I have also issued an Executive Order to help deal with this threat by giving the United States more powerful tools to reach the means by which terrorists and terrorist networks finance them-selves and to encourage greater cooperation by foreign financial institutions and other entities that may have access to foreign property belonging to terrorists or terrorist organizations.
The attacks of September 11, 2001,
highlighted in the most tragic way the threat posed to the security and
national interests of the United States by terrorists who have
abandoned any regard for humanity, decency, morality, or
honor. Terrorists and terrorist networks operate across
international borders and derive their financing from sources in many
nations. Often, terrorist property and financial assets lie
outside the juris-diction of the United States. Our effort
to combat and destroy the financial underpinnings of global terrorism
must therefore be broad, and not only provide powerful sanctions
against the U.S. property of terrorists and their supporters, but also
encourage multilateral cooperation in identifying and freezing property
and assets located elsewhere.
This Executive Order is part of our
national commitment to lead the international effort to bring a halt to
the evil of terrorist activity. In general terms, it
provides additional means by which to disrupt the financial support
network for terrorist organizations by blocking the U.S. assets not
only of foreign persons or entities who commit or pose a significant
risk of committing acts of terrorism, but also by blocking the assets
of their subsidiaries, front organizations, agents, and associates, and
any other entities that provide services or assistance to
them. Although the blocking powers enumerated in the order
are broad, my Administration is committed to exercising them
responsibly, with due regard for the culpability of the persons and
entities potentially covered by the order, and in consultation with
other countries.
The specific terms of the Executive Order
provide for the blocking of the property and interests in property,
including bank deposits, of foreign persons designated in the order or
pursuant thereto, when such property is within the United States or in
the possession or control of United States persons. In
addition, the Executive Order prohibits any transaction or dealing by
United States persons in such property or interests in property,
including the making or receiving of any contribution of funds, goods,
or services to or for the benefit of such designated persons.
I have identified in an Annex to this
order eleven terrorist organizations, twelve individual terrorist
leaders, three charitable or humanitarian organizations that operate as
fronts for terrorist financing and support, and one business entity
that operates as a front for terrorist financing and
support. I have determined that each of these organizations
and individuals have committed, supported, or threatened acts of
terrorism that imperil the security of U.S. nationals or the national
security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States. I
have also authorized the Secretary of State to determine and designate
additional foreign persons who have committed or pose a significant
risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten the security of U.S.
nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the
United States. Such desig-nations are to be made in
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Attorney
General.
The Executive Order further authorizes the
Secretary of the Treasury to identify, in consultation with the
Secretary of State and the Attorney General, additional persons or
entities that:
- Are owned or controlled by, or that act
for or on behalf of, those persons designated in or pursuant to the
order;
- Assist in, sponsor, or provide financial,
material, or technological support for, or financial or other services
to or in support of acts of terrorism or those persons designated in or
pursuant to the order; or
- Are otherwise associated with those
persons designated in or pursuant to the order.
Prior to designating persons that fall
within the latter two categories, the Secretary of the Treasury is
authorized to consult with any foreign authorities the Secretary of
State deems appropriate, in consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury and the Attorney General. Such consultation is intended to
avoid the need for additional designations by securing bilateral or
multilateral cooperation from foreign governments and foreign financial
and other institutions. Such consultation may include
requests to foreign governments to seek, in accordance with
international law and their domestic laws, information from financial
institutions regarding terrorist property and to take action to deny
terrorists the use of such property. The order also provides
broad authority, with respect to the latter two categories, for the
Secretary of the Treasury, in his discretion, and in consultation with
the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, to take lesser action
than the complete blocking of property or interests in property if such
lesser action is deemed consistent with the national interests of the
United States. Some of the factors that may be considered in
deciding whether a lesser action against a foreign person is consistent
with the national interests of the United States include:
- The impact of blocking on the U.S. or
international financial system;
- The extent to which the foreign person has
cooperated with U.S. authorities;
- The degree of knowledge the foreign person
had of the terrorist-related activities of the designated person;
- The extent of the relationship between the
foreign person and the designated person; and
- The impact of blocking or other measures
on the foreign person.
The Executive Order also directs the
Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and other agencies
to make all relevant efforts to cooperate and coordinate with other
countries, including through existing and future multilateral and
bilateral agreements and arrangements, to achieve the objectives of
this order, including the prevention and suppression of acts of
terrorism, the denial of the financing of and financial services to
terrorists and terrorist organizations, and the sharing of intelligence
about funding activities in support of terrorism.
In the Executive Order, I also have made
determinations to suspend otherwise applicable exemptions for certain
humanitarian, medical, or agricultural transfers or
donations. Regrettably, international terrorist networks
make frequent use of charitable or humanitarian organizations to obtain
clandestine financial and other support for their
activities. If these exemptions were not suspended, the
provision of humanitarian materials could be used as a loophole through
which support could be provided to individuals or groups involved with
terrorism and whose activities endanger the safety of United States
nationals, both here and abroad.
The Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, is
authorized to issue regulations in exercise of my authorities under
IEEPA to implement the prohibitions set forth in the Executive
Order. All Federal agencies are also directed to take
actions within their authority to carry out the provisions of the
order, and, where applicable, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury
in a timely manner of the measures taken.
The measures taken here will immediately
demonstrate our resolve to bring new strength to bear in our
multifaceted struggle to eradicate international
terrorism. It is my hope that they will point the way for
other civilized nations to adopt similar measures to attack the
financial roots of global terrorist networks.
In that regard, this Executive Order is an
integral part of our larger effort to form a coalition in the global
war against terrorism. We have already worked with nations
around the globe and groups such as the G-8, the European Union, and
the Rio Group, all of which have issued strong statements of their
intention to take measures to limit the ability of terrorist groups to
operate. In the next several weeks the 33rd Session of the
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) General Assembly and
other fora will focus on terrorism worldwide. It is our
intention to work within the G-7/G-8, the ICAO, and other fora to reach
agreement on strong concrete steps that will limit the ability of
terrorists to operate. In the G-7/G-8, the United States
will work with its partners, drawing on the G-8 Lyon Group on
Transnational Crime, the G-8 Group on Counter-terrorism, the G-7
Financial Action Task Force, and the existing G-8 commitments to build
momentum and practical cooperation in the fight to stop the flow of
resources to support terrorism. In addition, both the
Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the
Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings have been
forwarded to the Senate, and I will be forwarding shortly to the
Congress implementing legislation for both Conventions.
I am enclosing a copy of the Executive
Order I have issued. This order is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern
daylight time on September 24, 2001.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
September 23, 2001.
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