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Executive Order
13194 of January 18, 2001
Prohibiting the Importation of Rough
Diamonds From Sierra Leone
By the authority vested in me as President
by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States of America, including the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et
seq.), section 5 of the United Nations
Participation Act of 1945, as amended (22
U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), and section 301 of title
3, United States Code, and in view of United
Nations Security Council Resolution 1306 of
July 5, 2000,
I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, take note that the
people of Sierra Leone have suffered the
ravages of a brutal civil war for nearly 10
years, and that the United Nations Security
Council has determined that the situation in
Sierra Leone constitutes a threat to
international peace and security in the
region and also has expressed concerns
regarding the role played by the illicit
trade in diamonds in fueling the conflict in
Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone's insurgent
Revolutionary United Front's (RUF's) illicit
trade in diamonds from Sierra Leone to fund
its operations and procurement of weapons,
the RUF's flagrant violation of the Lome
Peace Agreement of July 7, 1999, and its
attacks on personnel of the United Nations
Mission in Sierra Leone are direct challenges
to the United States foreign policy
objectives in the region as well as a direct
challenge to the rule-based international
order which is crucial to the peace and
prosperity of the United States. Therefore, I
find these actions constitute an unusual and
extraordinary threat to the foreign policy of
the United States and hereby declare a
national emergency to deal with that threat.
In order to implement United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1306 and to ensure that
the direct or indirect importation into the
United States of rough diamonds from Sierra
Leone will not contribute financial support
to aggressive actions by the RUF or to the
RUF's procurement of weapons, while at the
same time seeking to avoid undermining the
legitimate diamond trade or diminishing
confidence in the integrity of the legitimate
diamond industry, I hereby order:
Section 1. Except to the extent provided
in section 2 of this order and to the extent
provided in regulations, orders, directives,
or licenses issued pursuant to this order,
and notwithstanding the existence of any
rights or obligations conferred or imposed by
any international agreement or any contract
entered into or any license or permit granted
prior to the effective date of this order,
the direct or indirect importation into the
United States of all rough diamonds from
Sierra Leone on or after the effective date
of this order is prohibited.
Sec. 2. The prohibition in section 1 of
this order shall not apply to the importation
of rough diamonds controlled through the
Certificate of Origin regime of the
Government of Sierra Leone.
Sec. 3. Any transaction by a United States
person or within the United States that
evades or avoids, or has the purpose of
evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate,
any of the prohibitions set forth in this
order is prohibited.
Sec. 4. For the purposes of this
order:
(a) the term "person" means an
individual or entity;
(b) the term "entity" means a partnership,
association, trust, joint venture,
corporation, or other organization;
(c) the term "United States person" means
any United States citizen, permanent
resident alien, entity organized under the
laws of the United States or any
jurisdiction within the United States
(including foreign branches), or any person
in the United States;
(d) the term "rough diamond" means all
unworked diamonds classifiable in heading
7102 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States; and
(e) the term "controlled through the
Certificate of Origin regime of the
Government of Sierra Leone" means
accompanied by a Certificate of Origin or
other documentation that demonstrates to
the satisfaction of the United States
Customs Service (or analogous officials of
a United States territory or possession
with its own customs administration) that
the rough diamonds were legally exported
from Sierra Leone with the approval of the
Government of Sierra Leone.
Sec. 5. The Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Secretary of State, is
hereby authorized to take such actions,
including the promulgation of rules and
regulations, and to employ all powers granted
to the President by IEEPA and UNPA, as may be
necessary to carry out the purposes of this
order. The Secretary of the Treasury may
redelegate any of these functions to other
officers and agencies of the United States
Government. All agencies of the United States
Government are hereby directed to take all
appropriate measures within their authority
to carry out the provisions of this
order.
Sec. 6. This order is not intended to
create, nor does it create, any right,
benefit, or privilege, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law by a party
against the United States, its agencies,
officers, or any other person.
Sec. 7. This order is effective at 12:01
a.m. eastern standard time on January 19,
2001.
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