For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
October 13, 2006

Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate

      In Focus: Africa

October 13, 2006

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

Consistent with subsection 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 (NEA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order (the "order") to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13067 of November 3, 1997.

On October 13, 2006, I signed into law the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 (DPAA), which, among other things, calls for support of the regional government of Southern Sudan, assistance with the peace efforts in the Darfur region of Sudan, and provision of economic assistance in specified areas of Sudan. Section 7 of the DPAA maintains the sanctions currently imposed on the Government of Sudan. However, section 8(e) of the DPAA exempts from the prohibitions of Executive Order 13067 certain areas in Sudan, including Southern Sudan, Southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains State, Blue Nile State, Abyei, Darfur, and marginalized areas in and around Khartoum.

Pursuant to IEEPA and the NEA, I determined that the Government of Sudan continues to implement policies and actions that violate human rights, in particular with respect to the conflict in Darfur, where the Government of Sudan exercises administrative and legal authority and pervasive practical influence, and that the Government of Sudan has a pervasive role in the petroleum and petrochemical industries in Sudan. In light of these determinations, and in order to reconcile sections 7 and 8 of the DPAA, I issued this order to continue the country wide blocking of the Government of Sudan's property and to prohibit transactions relating to the petroleum and petrochemical industries in Sudan.

The order blocks the property and interests in property of the Government of Sudan that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, including their overseas branches. The order also prohibits all transactions by United States persons relating to the petroleum or petrochemical industries in Sudan, including, but not limited to, oilfield services and oil or gas pipelines.

The order specifies that Executive Order 13067 remains in force, but that the prohibitions in section 2 of that order shall not apply to activities and transactions with respect to Southern Sudan, Southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains State, Blue Nile State, Abyei, Darfur, or marginalized areas in and around Khartoum, provided that the activities or transactions do not involve any property or interests in property of the Government of Sudan.

Sincerely,

GEORGE W. BUSH

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