For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 5, 2004

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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