Monday, August 7, 1995

 

Vol. 31, No. 31, ISSN: 0511-4187

 

Message to the Congress on Iraq. (Pres. Bill Clinton's speech)(Transcript)

 

 

� August 1, 1995

 

 

� To the Congress of the United States:

 

 

� I hereby report to the Congress on the developments since my last

report of February 8, 1995, concerning the national emergency with

respect to Iraq that was declared in Executive Order No. 12722 of

August 2, 1990. This report is submitted pursuant to section 401(c) of

the National Emergencies Act, 50 U.S.C. 1641(c), and section 204(c) of

the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 U.S.C. 1703(c).

 

 

� Executive Order No. 12722 ordered the immediate blocking of all

property and interests in property of the Government of Iraq (including

the Central Bank of Iraq) then or thereafter located in the United

States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person. That order

also prohibited the importation into the United States of goods and

services of Iraqi origin as well as the exportation of goods, services,

and technology from the United States to Iraq. The order prohibited

travel-related transactions to or from Iraq and the performance of any

contract in support of any industrial, commercial, or governmental

project in Iraq. United States persons were also prohibited from

granting or extending credit or loans to the Government of Iraq.

 

 

� The foregoing prohibitions (as well as the blocking of Government of

Iraq property) were continued and augmented on August 9, 1990, by

Executive Order No. 12724, which was issued in order to align the

sanctions imposed by the United States with United Nations Security

Council Resolution 661 of August 6, 1990.

 

 

� Executive Order No. 12817 was issued on October 21, 1992, to

implement in the United States measures adopted in United Nations

Security Council Resolution 778 of October 2, 1992. Resolution 778

requires U.N. Member States to transfer to a U.N. escrow account any

funds (up to $200 million apiece) representing Iraqi-oil sale proceeds

paid by purchasers after the imposition of U.N. sanctions on Iraq, to

finance Iraq's obligations for U.N. activities with respect to Iraq,

such as expenses to verify Iraqi weapons destruction, and to provide

humanitarian assistance in Iraq on a nonpartisan basis. A portion of

the escrowed funds also funds the activities of the U.N. Compensation

Commission in Geneva, which handles claims from victims of the Iraqi

invasion and occupation of Kuwait. Member States also may make

voluntary contributions to the account. The funds placed in the escrow

account are to be returned, with interest, to the Member States that

transferred them to the United Nations, as funds are received from

future sales of Iraqi oil authorized by the U.N. Security Council. No

Member State is required to fund more than half of the total transfers

or contributions to the escrow account.

 

 

� This report discusses only matters concerning the national emergency

with respect to Iraq that was declared in Executive Order No. 12722 and

matters relating to Executive Orders No. 12724 and 12817 (the

"Executive orders"). The report covers events from February 2, 1995,

through August 1, 1995.

 

 

� 1. During the reporting period, there were no amendments to the Iraqi

Sanctions Regulations.

 

 

� 2. The Department of the Treasury's office of Foreign Assets Control

("FAC") continues its involvement in lawsuits seeking to prevent the

unauthorized transfer of blocked Iraqi assets. In Consarc Corporation

v. Iraqi-ministry of Industry and Minerals, a briefing schedule has

been set for disposition of FAC's December 16, 1994, appeal of the

district court's order of October 17, 1994, transferring blocked

property.

 

 

� Investigations of possible violations of the Iraqi sanctions continue

to be pursued and appropriate enforcement actions taken. There are

currently 43 enforcement actions pending, including nine cases referred

by FAC to the U.S. Customs Service for joint investigation. Additional

FAC civil penalty notices were prepared during the reporting period for

violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Iraqi

sanction Regulations with respect to transactions involving Iraq. Three

penalties totaling $8,905 were collected from two banks for funds

transfers in violation of the prohibitions against transactions

involving Iraq.

 

 

� 3. Investigation also continues into the roles played by various

individuals and firms outside Iraq in the Iraqi government procurement

network. These investigations may lead to additions to FAC's listing of

individuals and organizations determined to be Specially Designated

Nationals ("SDNs") of the Government of Iraq.

 

 

� 4. Pursuant to Executive Order No. 12817 implementing United Nations

Security Council Resolution 778, on October 26, 1992, FAC directed the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York to establish a blocked account for

receipt for certain post-August 6, 1990, Iraqi-oil sales proceeds, and

to hold, invest, and transfer these funds as required by the Order. On

March 21, 1995, following payments by the Governments of Canada

($1,780,749.14), the European Community ($399,695.21), Kuwait

($2,500,000.00), Norway ($261,758.10), and Switzerland ($40,000.00),

respectively, to the special United Nations-controlled account,

entitled "United Nations Security Council Resolution 778 Escrow

Account," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was directed to transfer

a corresponding amount of $4,982,202.45 from the blocked account it

holds to the United Nations-controlled account. Similarly, on April 5,

1995, following the payment of $5,846,238.99 by the European Community,

the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was directed to transfer a

corresponding amount of $5,846,238.99 to the United Nations-controlled

account. Again, on May 23, 1995, following the payment of $3,337,941.75

by the European Community, $571,428.00 by the Government of the

Netherlands and $1,200,519.05 by the Government of the United Kingdom,

the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was directed to transfer a

corresponding amount of $5,109,888.80 to the United Nations-controlled

account. Finally, on June 19, 1995, following the payment of

$915,584.96 by the European Community and $736,923.12 by the Government

of the United Kingdom, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York was

directed to transfer a corresponding amount of $1,652,508.08 to the

United Nations-controlled account. Cumulative transfers from the

blocked Federal Reserve Bank of New York account since issuance of

Executive Order No. 12817 have amounted to $175,133,026.20 of the up to

$200 million that the United States is obligated to match from blocked

Iraqi oil payments, pursuant to United Nations Security Council

Resolution 778.

 

 

� 5. The Office of Foreign Assets Control has issued a total of 590

specific licenses regarding transactions pertaining to Iraq or Iraqi

assets since August 1990. Licenses have been issued for transactions

such as the filing of legal actions against Iraqi governmental

entities, legal representation of Iraq, and the exportation to Iraq of

donated medicine, medical supplies, food intended for humanitarian

relief purposes, the execution of powers of attorney relating to the

administration of personal assets and decedents' estates in Iraq, the

protection of preexistent intellectual property rights in Iraq and

travel to Iraq for the purposes of visiting Americans detained there.

Since my last report, 57 specific licenses have been issued.

 

 

� 6. The expenses incurred by the Federal Government in the 6 month

period from February 2, 1995, through August 1, 1995, which are

directly attributable to the exercise of powers and authorities

conferred by the declaration of a national emergency with respect to

Iraq are reported to be about $4.9 million, most of which represents

wage and salary costs for Federal personnel. Personnel costs were

largely centered in the Department of the Treasury (particularly in the

office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Customs Service, the Office

of the Under Secretary for Enforcement, and the Office of the General

Counsel), the Department of State (particularly the Bureau of Economic

and Business Affairs, the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, the Bureau of

International Organization Affairs, the Bureau of Political-Military

Affairs, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and the Office of the

Legal Adviser) and the Department of Transportation(particularly the

U.S. Coast Guard).

 

 

� 7. The United States imposed economic sanctions on Iraq in response

to Iraq's illegal invasion and occupation of Kuwait, a clear act of

brutal aggression. The United States, together with the international

community, is maintaining economic sanctions against Iraq because the

Iraqi regime has failed to comply fully with United Nations Security

Council resolutions. Security Council resolutions on Iraq call for the

elimination of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, Iraqi recognition of

Kuwait and the inviolability of the Iraq-Kuwait boundary, the release

of Kuwaiti and other third-country nationals, compensation for victims

of Iraqi aggression, long-term monitoring of weapons of mass

destruction capabilities, the return of Kuwaiti assets stolen during

Iraq's illegal occupation of Kuwait, renunciation of terrorism, an end

to internal Iraqi repression of its own civilian population, and the

facilitation of access of international relief organizations to all

those in need in all parts of Iraq. More than 5 years after the

invasion, a pattern of defiance persists: a refusal to account for

missing Kuwaiti detainees failure to return Kuwaiti property worth

millions of dollars, including military equipment that was used by Iraq

in its movement of troops to the Kuwaiti border in October 1994;

sponsorship of assassinations in Lebanon and in northern Iraq;

incomplete declarations to weapons inspectors; and ongoing widespread

human rights violations. As a result, the U.N. sanctions remain in

place; the United States will continue to enforce those sanctions under

domestic authority.

 

 

� The Baghdad government continues to violate basic human rights of its

own citizens through systematic repression of minorities and denial of

humanitarian assistance. The Government of Iraq has repeatedly said it

will not be bound by United Nations Security Council Resolution 688.

For more than 4 years, Baghdad has maintained a blockade of food,

medicine, and other humanitarian supplies against northern Iraq. The

Iraqi military routinely harasses residents of the north and has

attempted to "Arabize" the Kurdish, Turcomen, and Assyrian areas in the

north. Iraq has not relented in its artillery attacks against civilian

population centers in the south or in its burning and draining

operations in the southern marshes, which have forced thousands to flee

to neighboring States. In April 1995, the U. N. Security Council

adopted resolution 986 authorizing Iraq to export limited quantities of

oil (up to $1 billion per quarter) under U.N. supervision in order to

finance the purchase of food, medicine, and other humanitarian sup

plies. The resolution includes arrangements to ensure equitable

distribution of such assistance to all the people of Iraq. The

resolution also provides for the payment of compensation to victims of

Iraqi aggression and for the funding of other U.N. activities with

respect to Iraq. Resolution 986 was carefully crafted to address the

issues raised by Iraq to justify its refusal to implement similar

humanitarian resolutions adopted in 1991 (Resolutions 706 and 712),

such as oil export routes and questions of national sovereignty.

Nevertheless, Iraq refused to implement this humanitarian measure. This

only reinforces our view that Saddam Hussein is unconcerned about the

hardships suffered by the Iraqi people.

 

 

� The policies and actions of the Saddam Hussein regime continue to

pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and

foreign policy of the United States as well as to regional peace and

security. The U.N. resolutions require that the Security Council be

assured of Iraq's peaceful intentions in judging its compliance with

sanctions. Because of Iraq's failure to comply fully with these

resolutions, the United States will continue to apply economic

sanctions to deter it from threatening peace and stability in the

region.

 

 

� William J. Clinton

 

 

� The White House, August 1, 1995.