Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons With Respect to the Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis in Ethiopia, 52389-52393 [2021-20508]

Agencies

• Executive Office of the President

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 180 (Tuesday, September 21, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 52389-52393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20508]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 180 / Tuesday, September 21, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 52389]]


                Executive Order 14046 of September 17, 2021

                
Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons With 
                Respect to the Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis in 
                Ethiopia

                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.) 
                (NEA), sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 
                1185(a)), and section 301 of title 3, United States 
                Code,

                I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 
                of America, find that the situation in and in relation 
                to northern Ethiopia, which has been marked by 
                activities that threaten the peace, security, and 
                stability of Ethiopia and the greater Horn of Africa 
                region--in particular, widespread violence, atrocities, 
                and serious human rights abuse, including those 
                involving ethnic-based violence, rape and other forms 
                of gender-based violence, and obstruction of 
                humanitarian operations--constitutes an unusual and 
                extraordinary threat to the national security and 
                foreign policy of the United States. I hereby declare a 
                national emergency to deal with that threat.

                The widespread humanitarian crisis precipitated by the 
                violent conflict in northern Ethiopia has left millions 
                of people in need of humanitarian assistance and has 
                placed an entire region on the brink of famine. While 
                maintaining pressure on those persons responsible for 
                the crisis, the United States will seek to ensure that 
                appropriate personal remittances to non-blocked persons 
                and humanitarian assistance to at-risk populations can 
                flow to Ethiopia and the greater Horn of Africa region 
                through legitimate and transparent channels, including 
                governments, international organizations, and non-
                profit organizations. The United States supports 
                ongoing international efforts to promote a negotiated 
                ceasefire and political resolution of this crisis, to 
                ensure the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Ethiopia, 
                and to promote the unity, territorial integrity, and 
                stability of Ethiopia.

                Accordingly, I hereby order:

                Section 1. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized 
                to impose any of the sanctions described in section 
                2(a) of this order on any foreign person determined by 
                the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the 
                Secretary of State:

                    (a) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 
                have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to 
                engage in, any of the following:

(i) actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of 
Ethiopia, or that have the purpose or effect of expanding or extending the 
crisis in northern Ethiopia or obstructing a ceasefire or a peace process;

(ii) corruption or serious human rights abuse in or with respect to 
northern Ethiopia;

(iii) the obstruction of the delivery or distribution of, or access to, 
humanitarian assistance in or with respect to northern Ethiopia, including 
attacks on humanitarian aid personnel or humanitarian projects;

(iv) the targeting of civilians through the commission of acts of violence 
in or with respect to northern Ethiopia, including involving abduction, 
forced displacement, or attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, or 
locations where civilians are seeking refuge, or any conduct that would 
constitute a violation of international humanitarian law;

[[Page 52390]]

(v) planning, directing, or committing attacks in or with respect to 
northern Ethiopia against United Nations or associated personnel or African 
Union or associated personnel;

(vi) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or 
institutions in Ethiopia; or

(vii) actions or policies that undermine the territorial integrity of 
Ethiopia;

                    (b) to be a military or security force that 
                operates or has operated in northern Ethiopia on or 
                after November 1, 2020;
                    (c) to be an entity, including any government 
                entity or a political party, that has engaged in, or 
                whose members have engaged in, activities that have 
                contributed to the crisis in northern Ethiopia or have 
                obstructed a ceasefire or peace process to resolve such 
                crisis;
                    (d) to be a political subdivision, agency, or 
                instrumentality of the Government of Ethiopia, the 
                Government of Eritrea or its ruling People's Front for 
                Democracy and Justice, the Tigray People's Liberation 
                Front, the Amhara regional government, or the Amhara 
                regional or irregular forces;
                    (e) to be a spouse or adult child of any sanctioned 
                person;
                    (f) to be or have been a leader, official, senior 
                executive officer, or member of the board of directors 
                of any of the following, where the leader, official, 
                senior executive officer, or director is responsible 
                for or complicit in, or who has directly or indirectly 
                engaged or attempted to engage in, any activity 
                contributing to the crisis in northern Ethiopia:

(i) an entity, including a government entity or a military or security 
force, operating in northern Ethiopia during the tenure of the leader, 
official, senior executive officer, or director;

(ii) an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in any activity 
contributing to the crisis in northern Ethiopia or obstructing a ceasefire 
or a peace process to resolve such crisis during the tenure of the leader, 
official, senior executive officer, or director; or

(iii) the Government of Ethiopia, the Government of Eritrea or its ruling 
People's Front for Democracy and Justice, the Tigray People's Liberation 
Front, the Amhara regional government, or the Amhara regional or irregular 
forces, on or after November 1, 2020;

                    (g) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or 
                provided financial, material, or technological support 
                for, or goods or services to or in support of, any 
                sanctioned person; or
                    (h) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted 
                or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or 
                indirectly, any sanctioned person.

                Sec. 2. (a) When the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
                consultation with the Secretary of State, has 
                determined that a foreign person meets any of the 
                criteria described in section 1(a)-(h) of this order, 
                the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to select, 
                in consultation with the Secretary of State, one or 
                more of the sanctions set forth in subsections 
                (a)(i)(A)-(E) or (a)(ii)(A)-(B) of this section to 
                impose on that foreign person:

(i) the Secretary of the Treasury shall take the following actions as 
necessary to implement the selected sanctions:

  (A) block all property and interests in property of the sanctioned person 
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 
any United States person, and provide that such property and interests in 
property may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise 
dealt in;

  (B) prohibit any United States person from investing in or purchasing 
significant amounts of equity or debt instruments of the sanctioned person;

  (C) prohibit any United States financial institution from making loans or 
providing credit to the sanctioned person;

[[Page 52391]]

  (D) prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange that are subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States and in which the sanctioned person has 
any interest; or

  (E) impose on the leader, official, senior executive officer, or director 
of the sanctioned person, or on persons performing similar functions and 
with similar authorities as such leader, official, senior executive 
officer, or director, any of the sanctions described in subsections 
(a)(i)(A)-(D) of this section that are applicable.

(ii) the heads of the relevant executive departments and agencies, in 
consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall take the following 
actions as necessary and appropriate to implement the sanctions selected by 
the Secretary of the Treasury:

  (A) actions required to deny any specific license, grant, or any other 
specific permission or authority under any statute or regulation that 
requires the prior review and approval of the United States Government as a 
condition for the export or reexport of goods or technology to the 
sanctioned person; or

  (B) actions required to deny a visa to and exclude from the United States 
any noncitizen whom the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the 
Secretary of State, determines is a leader, official, senior executive 
officer, or director, or a shareholder with a controlling interest in, the 
sanctioned person.

                    (b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this 
                section apply except to the extent provided by 
                statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or 
                licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and 
                notwithstanding any contract entered into or any 
                license or permit granted before the date of this 
                order. No entity shall be blocked pursuant to this 
                order solely because it is owned in whole or in part, 
                directly or indirectly, by one or more sanctioned 
                persons, unless the entity is itself a sanctioned 
                person and the sanctions in section 2(a)(i)(A) of this 
                order are imposed on the entity.

                Sec. 3. The prohibitions in section 2(a) of this order 
                include:

                    (a) the making of any contribution or provision of 
                funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of 
                any person whose property and interests in property are 
                blocked pursuant to this order; and
                    (b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of 
                funds, goods, or services from any such person.

                Sec. 4. (a) The unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant 
                entry into the United States of noncitizens determined 
                to meet one or more of the criteria in section l of 
                this order, and for whom the sanctions described in 
                section 2(a)(i)(A) or section 2(a)(ii)(B) of this order 
                have been selected, would be detrimental to the 
                interests of the United States, and the entry of such 
                persons into the United States, as immigrants or 
                nonimmigrants, is hereby suspended, except when the 
                Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security, as appropriate, determines that the person's 
                entry would not be contrary to the interests of the 
                United States, including when the Secretary of State or 
                the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate, so 
                determines, based on a recommendation of the Attorney 
                General, that the person's entry would further 
                important United States law enforcement objectives.

                    (b) The Secretary of State shall implement this 
                order as it applies to visas pursuant to such 
                procedures as the Secretary of State, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may establish.
                    (c) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
                implement this order as it applies to the entry of 
                noncitizens pursuant to such procedures as the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 
                the Secretary of State, may establish.
                    (d) Such persons shall be treated by this section 
                in the same manner as persons covered by section 1 of 
                Proclamation 8693 of July 24, 2011

[[Page 52392]]

                (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to United 
                Nations Security Council Travel Bans and International 
                Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).

                Sec. 5. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has 
                the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation 
                of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set 
                forth in this order is prohibited.

                    (b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the 
                prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

                Sec. 6. I hereby determine that the making of donations 
                of the types of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) 
                of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the 
                benefit of any person whose property and interests in 
                property are blocked pursuant to this order would 
                seriously impair my ability to deal with the national 
                emergency declared in this order, and I hereby prohibit 
                such donations as provided by section 2 of this order.

                Sec. 7. For the purposes of this order:

                    (a) the term ``entity'' means a partnership, 
                association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, 
                subgroup, or other organization;
                    (b) the term ``Government of Ethiopia'' means the 
                Government of Ethiopia, any political subdivision, 
                agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the 
                National Bank of Ethiopia, and any person owned, 
                controlled, or directed by, or acting for or on behalf 
                of, the Government of Ethiopia;
                    (c) the term ``Government of Eritrea'' means the 
                Government of Eritrea, any political subdivision, 
                agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the Bank 
                of Eritrea, and any person owned, controlled, or 
                directed by, or acting for or on behalf of, the 
                Government of Eritrea;
                    (d) the term ``noncitizen'' means any person who is 
                not a citizen or noncitizen national of the United 
                States;
                    (e) the term ``person'' means an individual or 
                entity;
                    (f) the term ``sanctioned person'' means a foreign 
                person that the Secretary of the Treasury, in 
                consultation with the Secretary of State, has 
                determined meets any of the criteria described in 
                section 1 of this order and has selected, in 
                consultation with the Secretary of State, one or more 
                of the sanctions set forth in section 2(a) of this 
                order to impose on that foreign person; and
                    (g) the term ``United States person'' means any 
                United States citizen, lawful permanent resident, 
                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.

                Sec. 8. For those persons whose property and interests 
                in property are blocked or affected by this order who 
                might have a constitutional presence in the United 
                States, I find that because of the ability to transfer 
                funds and other assets instantaneously, prior notice to 
                such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this 
                order would render those measures ineffectual. I 
                therefore determine that for these measures to be 
                effective in addressing the national emergency declared 
                in this order, there need be no prior notice of a 
                listing or determination made pursuant to section 1 of 
                this order.

                Sec. 9. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of State, is authorized to take such 
                actions, including the promulgation of rules and 
                regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the 
                President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the 
                purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury 
                may, consistent with applicable law, redelegate any of 
                these functions within the Department of the Treasury. 
                All executive departments and agencies of the United 
                States shall take all appropriate measures within their 
                authority to implement this order.

                Sec. 10. Nothing in this order shall prohibit 
                transactions for the conduct of the official business 
                of the Federal Government by employees, grantees, and 
                contractors thereof.

                Sec. 11. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation 
                with the Secretary of State, is authorized to submit 
                recurring and final reports to the Congress

[[Page 52393]]

                on the national emergency declared in this order, 
                consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C. 
                1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 
                1703(c)).

                Sec. 12. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed 
                to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    September 17, 2021.

[FR Doc. 2021-20508
Filed 9-20-21; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P