[House Document 113-50]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress, 1st Session - - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 113-50
REPORT TO THE CONGRESS CONCERNING THE EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR
TURKMENISTAN
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY, LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, THE DEPARTMENT OF
STATE
transmitting
A REPORT CONCERNING THE EXTENSION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY FOR TURKMENISTAN,
PURSUANT TO PUB. L. 93-618, SEC. 402(d)(1) AND 409
July 26, 2013.--Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and ordered
to be printed
Department of State,
Washington, DC, May 29, 2013.
Hon. John A. Boehner,
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Dear Mr. Speaker: Pursuant to Subsection 402(d)(1) and 409
of the Trade Act of 1974 (Jackson-Vanik Amendment), P.L. 93-
618, the President's Delegation of Authority E.O. 13346 (July
8, 2004), and Delegation of Authority No. 245-1 (February 13,
2009), the Deputy Secretary of State has exercised the waiver
authority provided by the Act on behalf of the Secretary of
State and has issued the required determination.
A copy of the Deputy Secretary's Determination and the
accompanying Report to Congress concerning the extension of
waiver authority for Turkmenistan are enclosed.
We hope you find this information useful. Please do not
hesitate to contact us if we may be of assistance on this or
any other issue.
Sincerely,
Thomas B. Gibbons,
Acting Assistant Secretary,
Legislative Affairs.
Enclosures: As stated.
Report to the Congress Concerning the Extension of Waiver Authority for
Turkmenistan
This report is submitted pursuant to subsection 402(d)(1)
of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended (``the Act''), also known
as the Jackson-Vanik amendment.
FREEDOM OF EMIGRATION DETERMINATION
Turkmenistan was found compliant with the Act every year
until 2003 when, in response to an armed attack on former
President Niyazov's motorcade in November 2002, the government
tightened control over movement outside of the country by
imposing an exit visa requirement, including restrictions on
emigration. The government officially removed the exit visa
regime in January 2004, restoring some freedom of movement,
including freedom of emigration.
The Government of Turkmenistan's 2005 Law on Migration has
been used to limit the ability of Turkmen to leave the country.
The law contains several restrictions on travel abroad.
According to Article 32 of the law, those with access to state
secrets, those considered a risk of becoming victims of
trafficking, and those whose departure threatens Turkmenistan's
national security can be prevented from traveling.
Although the government denies maintaining a list of
persons not permitted to leave the country, it continues to bar
select individuals from departing. All citizens and visitors to
Turkmenistan are required to undergo a check by the State
Migration Service prior to departing the country. Some family
members of officials imprisoned in 2002 who wanted to emigrate
to join relatives abroad have not been allowed to do so. People
subject to a suspected travel ban who have tried to leave the
country have been turned away at the airport, visited by
security services and told not to try to leave, or had their
passports confiscated. In general, government policy requires
personnel offices of government agencies to hold the passports
of all government employees. Government employees must first
obtain permission to travel abroad to retrieve their passports.
Emigration is possible for most Turkmen citizens. The top
destination countries for emigration from Turkmenistan are the
Russian Federation, Ukraine, Israel, Latvia, Turkey, Germany,
Armenia, the United States, Kazakhstan, and Iran. Official
statistics, however, are difficult to obtain. An international
organization that follows migration issues reports that at
least 234 Turkmen citizens who acquired refugee status in other
countries were able to leave the country between 2004 and 2009.
An additional 17 citizens left between January and April 2010.
An unofficial source reported the Government of Turkmenistan
permitted the migration of 34 Jewish citizens of Turkmenistan
from the country in 2008, and allowed 53 Jewish citizens to
emigrate to Israel in 2009.
However, there continue to be numerous accounts of
individuals barred from leaving the country. In the fall of
2009, students who planned to study at the American University
in Central Asia were not allowed to depart to Bishkek, and in
addition were temporarily banned from foreign travel. In April
2011, a group of health professionals who were supposed to take
part in a U.S. government-sponsored exchange program in the
United States were stopped at the airport by State Migration
Service officials and denied exit. Those seven people were then
placed on a list of persons banned from leaving the country.
Authorities denied exit to eight recipients of scholarships to
the Smolny Institute in Russia in August 2012. No explanation
was provided in these cases.
For Turkmen citizens possessing a second citizenship, exit
from Turkmenistan can be problematic. The Turkmen Constitution
does not permit dual citizenship, and there have been occasions
when State Migration Service officials refused to allow dual
citizens to exit the country, despite possession of a valid
travel document showing the person's other citizenship. The
State Migration Service has not provided clear instructions on
how dual citizens can leave the country, nor a clear procedure
for a person to renounce Turkmen citizenship.
The Jackson-Vanik waiver has been a tool for the United
States to encourage the Government of Turkmenistan to ease its
emigration restrictions, in combination with ongoing engagement
on specific issues such as dual citizenship or the travel ban
against students at the American University in Central Asia.
The Government of Turkmenistan seeks to avoid criticism from
the international community on issues such as respect for
freedom of movement. Turkmenistan's announcement in early 2013
of its goal of acceding to the World Trade Organization
provides an additional opportunity to press its government to
adopt further reforms to its migration policies. The waiver
extension is essential to maintain conditions for bilateral
dialogue on freedom of emigration and movement and thus will
substantially promote the objectives of Section 402 of the Act.
Determination Under Subsection 402(d)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, As
Amended--Continuation of Waiver Authority
Pursuant to the authority vested in the President under the
Trade Act of 1974, as amended, Public Law 93-618, 88 Stat. 1978
(hereinafter ``the Act''), and assigned to the Secretary of
State by virtue of Section 1(a) of Executive Order 13346 of
July 8, 2004, as well as the authority delegated to the Deputy
Secretary of State by Delegation of Authority 245-1 of February
13, 2009, I determine, pursuant to Section 402(d)(1) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. 2432(d)(1), that the further extension of the
waiver authority granted by Section 402 of the Act will
substantially promote the objectives of Section 402 of the Act.
I further determine that continuation of the waiver applicable
to Turkmenistan will substantially promote the objectives of
Section 402 of the Act.
This Determination shall be published in the Federal
Register.
William J. Burns,
Deputy Secretary of State.